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13 SEER Regulation
Cottam Heating & Air
Conditioning, Inc. would like all of our customers to know that the Department
of Energy’s regulation requiring a thirty percent increase in the minimum
Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) for residential air conditioners and
heat pumps will go into effect on January 23rd, 2006.
You may be wondering what this means for you.
What it means is that, as of January 23rd, 2006, to meet just
the basic regulation requirements you should, if you are planning to, purchase
an air conditioner or heat pump with a minimum rating of 13 SEER.
There will be no more 10 and/or 12 SEER options.
No heating and air conditioning manufacturers will be allowed to
manufacture equipment that does not meet these specifications.
The reason for this new regulation is to save consumers money, while better
protecting the environment. With the
enactment of this regulation, the Department of Energy has projected that
consumers will save an estimated 3.4 billion dollars in energy costs and will
also avoid the construction of 150 power plants by 2020 when the new units are
expected to be in wide use. Air
conditioners and heat pumps, after all, account for two-thirds of the
electricity use during the peak summer demand periods.
Even though you will not be required to meet these standards today, a purchase
of any unit with the lower SEER rating will not realize the benefit’s of the
2006 regulation. It is possible that
the lower efficiency equipment not meeting the 2006 requirements may lower the
future resale value of your home. With
the purchase of a 13 SEER or greater SEER unit, there will be a gain in energy
efficiency (approximately 30 percent), a home heating/cooling system that will
meet the requirements of 2006 and into the future, and a monthly utility bill
savings over the lesser SEER equipment.
If you are one of our
customers who has previously purchased and had a unit installed that will no
longer meet the new 13 SEER minimum (i.e. you own a 10 or 12 SEER air
conditioning unit), please keep in mind that parts for your units may still be
available, but the manufacturer reserves the right to cease the production of
and discontinue any and/or all parts at any time.
If you have any questions
regarding this upcoming change, please feel free to contact either me or Michael
Jawski Jr., Cottam Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc.’s Comfort Consultant,
at (800) 734-TEMP ((800) 734-8367).
**For more information please visit www.energy.gov
and search for "central air conditioners".
Yours truly,
Gary Cottam
President
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