338 McKee St.
Batavia, IL 60510
Phone: 630.761.9007
Fax: 800.219.2218
Email: beth@confidentaire.com
Open your utility bills with an Aire of Confidence!
Speak to a Home Energy Expert.
Call 630.761.9007
IL Plumbing License: 058-181025
Air Conditioners
The government has set the minimum SEER rating for air conditioners at 13. They go as high as 21 SEER. But first, what is SEER? Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio is a complicated way of determining how much air conditioning goes into your home for every kilowatt of electricity you pay for. Basically, the higher the SEER rating the lower your bills will be. But many would argue that in the Midwest 21 SEER is overkill, with an upfront cost that can never be recovered here.
The fact of the matter is that for every family the right air conditioner is a different answer. Some will run the machine from May until October, while others only for a few weeks on and off when the weather is unbearable. In Chicago, you should purchase the most efficient furnace money can buy, and the air conditioner that best matches your usage pattern. Certainly, it would be foolish to steer families toward the least efficient model when the most important variable, the cost of energy, is subject to change at any time. What else then could be important factors in the decision?
The first is refrigerant, R-22 will no longer be available in machines produced after Jan 1, 2010 because this refrigerant, when handled improperly, depletes the ozone layer. As this refrigerant is phased out the cost for each pound needed later will escalate exponentially. R-410A is environmentally friendly and readily available for many years to come. While many contractors have resisted the change to the �new� refrigerant, Confident Aire�s technicians have been certified and actively installing these units for ten years.
The second is staging, the summer day temperatures here can hit 95 degrees and cool off to 65 degrees at night. That is a daily range as high as 30 degrees! It stands to reason then that a much larger unit is needed at noon than at midnight, especially when you consider that the unit large enough at noon will run very short cycles at midnight. Short cycles do not effectively remove humidity, leaving people feeling cool and sticky at bedtime after paying for the unit to run all day while they are at work. A two-staged unit runs at full speed the few days you need it or when you have many guests in the house and at roughly half that capacity when the temperature is lower or the sun goes down. The end result is less electrical consumption and more comfort, because our clients are dry and comfortable at higher temperatures. Many clients have joked that we may have saved their marriage!