What Do Commercial Air Conditioner Ratings Mean?
April 12, 2018
You probably run across different rating terminologies when buying a new commercial air conditioning system. These ratings can greatly affect one’s decision as to what type of air conditioning unit is the best fit for commercial spaces. Generally, almost 50% of energy usage in commercial buildings are accounted for heating and cooling units. Hence, it is important to understand what these ratings mean.
If the letters and numbers in the ratings are all Greek to you, here is helpful information that can explain various A/C ratings you are likely to encounter when you buy a new commercial unit.
Efficiency Rating
How efficient your commercial air conditioning unit is when it comes to energy usage is calculated using SEER rating.
- SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio)
The SEER of your air conditioning unit pictures the amount of energy that your system needs in order to function effectively and how much it costs to operate per month. This is applicable to features of air conditioners and heat pumps. SEER number is derived by dividing the cooling output in BTU (British Thermal Unit) by the electricity it consumed in kilowatt-hours.
The higher the SEER rating, the more efficient the air conditioning system is. Low SEER ratings on old commercial units signify that more electrical energy is consumed to operate the system, leading to a skyrocketing energy bill per month. If you will buy a brand new commercial unit, choose those with high a SEER rating to ensure that the product is providing good performance at low operating costs.
Sound Rating
It is natural for commercial and residential air conditioning systems to produce sounds as part of the operation. If your commercial HVAC is located on the roof, it will not be much of a problem. But if you have your system mounted on the ground, the noise will be a big distraction to anyone who works near it.
- SRN (Sound Rating Number)
The noise produced by an air conditioning unit in its operation is measured in decibels (dB). Normally, the cooling equipment operates at a low of 70 decibels to 90 decibels. The SRN indicates the expected noise level an air conditioning unit will produce. The lower the SRN ratings, the quieter your commercial system operation is.
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