How to Shop for Air Conditioning

“Typically, they’re using central air to be more comfortable,” Rogers says. “The unit is cooling your entire house so you don’t have to spend an entire summer sheltered in one room on your home.”

Those opting for this convenience should ask for several quotes and do some background research on contractors before committing to an installation.

Once you decide on the right system for you, anyone combing the racks of their local hardware store for a new air-conditioning unit should follow these suggestions to make sure they wind up with the right one.

Read the ratings

If you’re going to get your money’s worth on an air-conditioning purchase, you’re going to want to ensure that you end up with a unit that runs efficiently.

“More efficient units use less electricity,” Rogers says. “The less electricity the unit uses, the lower your monthly electric bills will be.”

Fortunately, you can get a good idea of how efficient a unit is just by looking at the packaging.

Room units, for instance, will have an Energy Efficiency Ratio rating on the front while central and ductless air conditioning will have the similar Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio rating on their boxes. Both ratings are determined by how many British Thermal Units (BTUs) – the standard measurement of heat for these appliances – per hour are used with each watt of power and speaks to how efficiently a unit runs.

National appliance standards issued by the Department of Energy currently require room air conditioners to have an EER of at least 8, while the minimum SEER allowed is 13.