Why is SEER rating and Inverter style air-conditioning important in Costa Rica?
One of the top questions asked to Costa Rica Solar Solutions when new construction buyers and building a home is, what kind of air conditioners should we buy. Since we are not in the AC business, but we are in the energy solution business it makes sense that we should know that question. Using the SolarEdge monitoring system we monitor production, consumption and self-consumption. We can see patterns such as when the pool pump turns on or when the hot water heater turns on. In a previous blog we wrote about pool pumps and how important to have variable speed and that is also true to know your AC seer rating. click here for blog
Recently we had a client that purchased a new home from a reputable builder, and it included solar. We all had meetings on what our system could provide in the amount of kilo watt hours and energy storage for back up. The client was excited with their new home until they started receiving their electric bills and assumed their solar system was not functioning. CRSS provided the information on the SolarEdge portal which showed the system was working incredibly well. We went out and did an energy management visit and found their air conditioners were rated SEER 13 and NOT inverter style AC. This is not what the clients agreed to purchase, and they had all 10 of them removed and replaced with SEER 19 inverter style AC. In the past we have had builders tell us they didn’t care about energy efficiency but only to get a good deal for their clients.
What is SEER?
Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER rating), is a measurement of your air conditioning system’s energy efficiency by calculating the cooling output divided by the amount of electric energy input. The higher the SEER rating, the greater energy efficiency of your air conditioning system. Air conditioners have SEER ratings ranging from six to 23, but all current units are required to have a SEER rating of 13 or higher. CRSS would recommend in Costa Rica no lower than a SEER 19!
What is inverter AC?
An inverter is a device for converting frequency. The technology is used in many home appliances and controls electric voltage, current and frequency. … An inverter type air-conditioner adjusts the speed of the compressor to control the refrigerant (gas) flow rate, thereby consuming less current and power. In order for us to add your AC to the SolarEdge LG Resu back up system they must be high efficiency inverter style. We can add up to 4 AC’s to the backup panel.
Where to look and what questions to ask?
When working with your builder or AC salesperson, make sure to ask for only SEER 19 or greater with a inverter. Todays new AC have other options such as wifi which is great because you can use home management systems such as Google, Alexa and many others. When you do receive the ACs, you can look on the side of the AC and find a placard to confirm what you have purchased. This is important because we have found mistakes on the supplier’s behalf.
What AC’s have our clients been the most happy with.
CRSS has found out from our clients the brands that have the best results for efficiency is Panasonic, LG and Carrier. There are many other brands out there, but these are the ones our clients have raved about.
After years of monitoring our systems, we consider CRSS as a energy managers to help you attain your energy needs!
