Green Building Energy Savings

Energy Star Air Conditioners for Room and Home

Home air conditioning units can be a big energy draw in hot summer months, or year-round in warm climates where they must always be working. The more you use it, the more important it is to operate an energy efficient model that will not only help the environment but will also save long-term money on utility costs.

Home and room air conditioning units come in a large array of sizes and types. Many are window-mounted units and must be installed carefully in order to minimize escaped air through the exposed opening surrounding the unit. Another increasingly popular type of air treatment unit is the in-room or portable air conditioner. Either way, treated cooler air flows into your home and warm exhaust flows outward into the environment.

The Energy Star program qualifies only select air conditioning units to meet strict Federal standards. Because air conditioners emit significant greenhouse gas emissions, efficiency is the utmost importance to a green building environment. Energy Star qualified AC units help promote clean air while reducing the effects of global warming. To bear the blue logo, these air conditioners must use at least 10% less energy than similar models.

When installing an air conditioner to cool a room, the size of the room should be determined before buying the unit. While you might think a bigger air conditioner would be better, the fact is that too larger a unit actually less effective. Too large an AC unit placed in too small a room leads to higher humidity, because the air conditioner cools the room too quickly to allow humidity to be properly displaced. This leads to claminess and an overall dank feeling rather than a cool, dry room.

Energy Star recommends the following chart below be used to determine the BTU (British Thermal Units) capacity needed when cooling a room with an air conditioning unit:

Area of Room to be Cooled (sq. ft.)	Air Conditioner BTU Capacity Needed
100 to 150	5,000
151 to 250	6,000
251 to 300	7,000
301 to 350	8,000
351 to 400	9,000
401 to 450	10,000
451 to 550	12,000
551 to 700	14,000
701 to 1000	18,000
1001 to 1200	21,000
1201 to 1400	23,000
1401 to 1500	24,000
1501 to 2000	30,000
2001 to 2500	34,000
2500+	(Better get central air conditioning...)

Make a 10% upward or downward BTU adjustment depending upon whether the room is in direct sunlight or a shaded area. If this is an air conditoner you intend to install in the kitchen, add an extra 4,000 BTU's to the needed capacity, and make sure the unit has adjusters to aim the airflow in the direction you need it.

Other things you can do to help lower your cooling utility bills including purchasing a model that has a programmable timer. Most Energy Star units have this feature, allowing you to operate the air conditioner only during times of the day that you'll be occupying the room. If your model doesn't have such a timer, you can easily find a cheap plug-in timer from your local hardware or home supply store. Installing a ceiling fan if you don't already have one is another good idea, to increase air circulation and make the room more comfortable. Finally, keeping your air conditioner's air filters clean is perhaps the most important thing you can do to keep it running smoothly, cleanly, and as energy efficiently as possible. Units with removable filters and easy-to-access filtration panels are highly desirable, and the manufacturers have recognized this and placed such ease of use features on their better models.

Air Conditioners and the Yellow Energy Guide Label

Established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1992, the Energy Star program has gained much momentum and respect with increased awareness of environmental protection. When choosing an air conditioner for your home, looking for the Energy Star logo is always a good idea. However, checking the statistics on the yellow Energy Guide label attached to appliances these days is also a great way of realizing the type of energy consumption you can expect from such a product. Electricity costs are usually broken down an an annual basis, and energy efficient models do exist outside the scope of Energy Star rated AC units.

Energy Star Manufacturer's List for Home Air Conditioners

The list found below details major manufacturers of Energy Star rated Air Conditioning units. While this is not a complete list, it's always best to check with the manufacturing company to get the full details and energy saving information of each particular model.

Admiral Airtemp Amana Arctic Air Arctic King Carrier Climette Comfort Aire Crosley Daewoo Danby Degodi TM Fedders Friedrich Frigidaire General Electric Gibson Goldstar HEC Haier

- 4 models - 8 models - 22 models - 3 models - 1 model - 8 models - 4 models - 16 models - 6 models - 3 models - 14 models - 4 models - 31 models - 33 models - 58 models - 58 models - 14 models - 6 models - 4 models - 17 models

Hampton Bay Impco Kenmore LG Electronics Maytag Midea Panasonic Polar Wind Samsung Sharp Silhouette Simplicity Sunbeam Turbo Air Unionaire Westpointe Whirlpool W. Westinghouse Wintair

- 7 models - 2 models - 32 models - 26 models - 19 models - 30 models - 17 models - 3 models - 23 models - 28 models - 4 models - 4 models - 11 models - 2 models - 15 models - 10 models - 27 models - 2 models - 5 models

Rebate Offers and Tax Credit Listings for Home Air Conditioning Units

Rebate and Tax Credit Listings by Energy Star

Rebates are offered by both the United States Federal government and through local state programs that can return money directly to consumers who purchase Energy Star rated air conditioners. This not only limited to the Energy Star program, but also extended to other energy efficient models that help reduce CO2 emissions for a greener environment. Check the Energy Star website's link above for local state and Federal rebate and tax incentive programs nearest your zip code.