Figuring out the percentage reduction of your electric bill for a new air conditioner is fairly simple. Subtract the SEER of your current unit from the SEER of a system you are considering buying, and then divide that number by the SEER of the new system. If you are going from 12 to a 16 SEER, the calculation would be 16 - 12 = 4, and 4 ÷ 16 = 0.25, so the savings would 25% of the portion of the bill for home cooling. If you are not sure of the SEER of your current HVAC system, go to our blog post “How can I find out the SEER of my air conditioner?”

    Calculating your actual dollar savings is more complicated. If you live in Florida, like us, you use the a/c a lot more than someone in Ohio and, of course, the cost per kilowatt hour for electricity in your area also impacts your savings. We recommend using one of the online calculators, and Lennox has an excellent one at:

http://www.lennox.com/resources/energycalculator.asp

    Here’s example below of the results for a 12 to 16 SEER upgrade in Florida. As you can see, the percentage savings matches our easy calculation method, but it also shows dollar savings for 5, 10, and 15 year periods.

    Also, see our blog posts What causes air leakage energy loss in a house? and How can I find out the SEER of my air conditioner?

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  To learn more about heating and air conditioning systems, see these other blog posts:

• How can I find out the SEER of my air conditioner? 

• My air conditioner won't turn on. What's wrong? 

• How can I find out the size of my air conditioner? 

• How can I tell whether the condenser (outdoor unit) is an air conditioner or heat pump? 

• Where is the air filter for my central air conditioner and furnace? I can’t find it? 

• Does an old air conditioner use more electricity as it ages? 

• How did homes stay cool in Florida before air conditioning? 

• What is wrong with an air conditioner when the air flow out of the vents is low?

• Why has the thermostat screen gone blank? 

• Why does it take so long to cool a house when an air conditioner has been off for a while? 

• Why is my air conditioner not cooling enough? 

• What are the most common problems with wall/window air conditioners?  

• Will closing doors reduce my heating and cooling costs? 

   Visit our HEATING AND AIR CONDITIONING page for other related blog posts on this subject, or go to the INDEX for a complete listing of all our articles.