How to Choose Your New Air Conditioner

Your new air conditioner can be so quiet you don't even know it's there.

How often do you shop for a new air conditioner? Probably less often than you shop for a new car, maybe even a new house. Every year, the market sees new products, new features and new technology. Everything you learned n the time between your last air conditioner purchase and now is hopelessly out of date.

Luckily, you’ve made your way to our blog. And we can help you understand the basics so you come armed with the knowledge to get exactly what your family needs. You’ll be satisfied with your purchase, and that’s what we want from all our customers.

How to choose your new air conditioner

Before making your choice for a specific air conditioner, here are some friendly tips to help guide your choice:

Shop early in the Spring

Don’t wait for the summer heat. Shop for your new air conditioner in the spring or fall. These are typically the best times of year to get a good deal on the price, and some providers, like us, will include valuable add-ons. If you do buy in the spring, run your air conditioner a few times before the real heat hits. Just like a new car’s engine hits its gas mileage stride after a few thousand kms, your air conditioner achieves peak efficiency after some use.

Go ductless

Ductless air conditioners could be the best option for your home. If your older home doesn’t have the space for traditional ducts, ductless air conditioners keep the house just as cool and don’t require¹ any significant installation construction.

Make sure the efficiency is certified

ENERGY STAR qualified air conditioners from Carrier, or Coleman are the most efficient currently available. The initial investment is larger, but the savings over the lifetime of the product are extremely worth the upfront cost.

Quality counts

Look for a good manufacturer. The manufacturer never wants to pay for warranty claims. The longer the manufacturer warranty, the more confident that manufacturer is in the quality of the product. If you get a 5 year warranty, you know the manufacturer is confident the product will get through those 5 years (and likely as much as double that time) without warranty issues.

Know your capacity

Always come equipped with the square footage of your home. An air conditioner works best when sized right for the house. Larger doesn’t mean better.

By the way, have you downloaded your free eBook yet? It can help you save money on heating and cooling maintenance!

How to save MORE money with your new AC

Cooling your home represents extra energy costs. However, a sensible use and a few tips can help lower these costs and reduce your ecological footprint:

1. If your current air conditioner is more than 10 years old, replace it. The industry has achieved significant improvements in efficiency over the last decade, and a new unit might be 30% more efficient than your 10 year old unit (even if it was hyper-efficient when you bought it).
2. Install your new air conditioner in a shaded area. Air conditioner operate about 10% more efficiently when out of direct sunlight.
3. Help your air conditioner work at a more leisurely pace through the day by closing the blinds on windows facing the sun.
4. Turn off your air conditioner and open the windows in the evenings when temperature and humidity levels are lower and that a refreshing breeze takes over the room temperature
5. Air conditioner maintenance is a  money saver. Seriously!
6. Plant trees on the north side of your house to further reduce heat absorption, lowering the workload for your air conditioner. Eastern White Pines look good and do a great job of shielding from the sun.
7. Keep up with the annual maintenance. There’s no better way to avoid the possibility of expensive repairs or more expensive air conditioner replacement.

Work With a Supplier You Can Trust

That’s it. Anything else, we’d rather talk to you in person. Some things require more knowledge of your unique circumstances, and it’s better to walk through some things face to face.

Call or stop by our showroom today to talk more about your new air conditioner.