We’ve mentioned the perks of upgrading to high-efficiency HVAC equipment in previous posts, but do you know how to tell how one unit stacks up compared to another? In order to get the most out of your investment, it is important that you know how to read and understand HVAC efficiency ratings. Here, we will take a closer look at a few key efficiency ratings to help you select your HVAC systems with confidence and ease.
4 HVAC efficiency ratings to watch out for
- AFUE – Annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE) is a measurement of how efficiently heating systems are able to convert the energy from its fuel into heat for your home as opposed to the amount of energy that it consumes. If a furnace has an AFUE of 90 percent, for example, you will know that 90 percent of its fuel energy will become usable heat for your living spaces while the remaining 10 percent is lost to your chimney or elsewhere.
- HSPF – The heating seasonal performance factor is specifically tailored to measure the performance efficiency of air source heat pumps. This rating is simply the ratio of a unit’s BTU heat output throughout the heating season vs. the watt-hours of electricity that it consumes. With HSPF, the higher the rating is, the more efficiently it operates.
- MERV – The minimum efficiency reporting value will tell you how efficiently an air filter is able to capture pollutants and particles in order to boost HVAC system performance, protect your equipment, and improve your indoor air quality. The MERV scale ranges from 1 to 16 with the higher-rated filters being able to capture a greater percentage of particles.
- SEER – The seasonal energy efficiency ratio is a measurement of a unit’s cooling output throughout the cooling season divided by its total electric energy input during that timeframe. The higher the SEER rating, the more efficiently you can expect the air conditioner to operate.
For more details on HVAC efficiency ratings, contact us at Around the Clock Air Conditioning and Heating. We’ve been offering expert service in the Los Angeles and San Fernando Valley area since 1967.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Los Angeles, North Hollywood and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about hvac efficiency ratings and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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