In the detailed inputs level of the model, users can select the purchase year for their heating and cooling systems as an alternative to entering an efficiency value for the equipment. In these cases, we derive a shipment-weighted efficiency based on the purchase year of the equipment. A shipment-weighted efficiency is the average efficiency for all units sold within a particular year weighted by the number of units in each efficiency bin (AHAM 1996). Efficiencies for furnaces are measured as AFUE, or Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency rating, which represents the seasonal or annual efficiency of the furnace. Heat pumps efficiency is shown as HSPF, Heating Seasonal Performance Factor.
The cooling efficiency for Central Air Conditioners and Electric Heat Pumps are rated by the seasonal efficiency of the equipment or SEER. Room Air Conditioners are rated by EER or Energy Efficiency Ratio, the ratio of the cooling output (in BTU) divided by the electrical energy consumption (in watt-hours).
Green shaded values did not have data available so the last available year is copied forward.
Yellow shaded values did not have data available so the first available year is copied backward.
Heating Equipment Efficiencies
Cooling System Efficiencies
* New federal CAC/HP standard took effect Jan 23, 2006. Standard level is 13 SEER. Because no SWEF data are available since 2003 that splits out CAC from HP, both products are set to the average for the combined product class (per AHRI data for DOE rulemaking).