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Room Air Conditioners Key Product Criteria

Equipment Criteria
Room Air Conditioners At least 10% more energy efficient than the minimum federal government standards.

ENERGY STAR Qualified Room Air Conditioner (RAC) Eligibility

Capacity (Btu/Hr) Federal Standard EER, with louvered sides ENERGY STAR EER, with louvered sides Federal Standard EER, without louvered sides ENERGY STAR EER, without louvered sides
< 6,000 >= 9.7 >= 10.7 >= 9.0 >= 9.9
6,000 to 7,999
8,000 to 13,999 >= 9.8 >= 10.8 >= 8.5 >= 9.4
14,000 to 19,999 >= 9.7 >= 10.7
>= 20,000 >= 8.5 >= 9.4
Casement Federal Standard EER ENERGY STAR EER
Casement-only >= 8.7 >= 9.6
Casement-slider >= 9.5 >= 10.5
REVERSE CYCLE
Capacity (Btu/Hr) Federal Standard EER, with louvered sides ENERGY STAR EER, with louvered sides Federal Standard EER, without louvered sides ENERGY STAR EER, without louvered sides
< 14,000 n/a n/a >= 8.5 >= 9.4
>= 14,000 >= 8.0 >= 8.8
< 20,000 >= 9.0 >= 9.9 n/a n/a
>= 20,000 >= 8.5 >= 9.4

Features that help room air conditioners achieve this efficiency include:

  • High-efficiency compressors
  • High-efficiency fan motors
  • Improved heat transfer surfaces

An air conditioner transfers heat — from the inside of a building, where it is not wanted, to the outside. The compressor sends cooled refrigerant through the coils. The refrigerant draws heat from the air as it is forced over the coils. A fan blows outside air over the hot coil, transferring heat from the refrigerant to the outdoor air. Because the heat is removed from the indoor air, the indoor area is cooled.

By using advanced heat transfer technologies, ENERGY STAR qualified room air conditioners transfer more heat from the air into the coils than conventional models transfer, saving the energy required to compress the refrigerant.