This week it felt like summer in the Keys. The temperatures are in the 80’s and the humidity is up too. As much as I am a hold out and love fresh air I am sorry to say even though it seems too early in the year it was time to crank up the a/c. This year our 1997 unit didn’t crank up and the repairman pronounced it dead. Considering they last about 15 years this did not seem an unreasonable assessment. Although 1997 doesn’t seem that long ago, it is in air conditioning years. Air conditioning units like many other appliances have come a long way energy efficiently. Not only are there savings on your energy bill but tax incentives too. Almost half of the energy spent in US homes is for heating and cooling (47%). If you are up grading from a unit that is more than 12 years old, replacing it with an ENERGY STAR qualified model could cut your cooling costs by 30%. I my case we spent $3,961 on electricity last year, figure 47% of that was for heating and cooling and my new model is 30% more efficient then I will be saving $558/year. The whole new 16 SEER unit costs $3770 installed so it has paid for itself in energy savings in 6 ¾ years. There is also a tax incentive to take into consideration although the federal tax credit is down from $1,500 in 2010 to $500 in 2011 there is also and extra rebate through Keys energy for $250. Wow I just save another $750. I don’t feel so bad about having replace the central a/c now. I just hope it comes in soon because it feels like summer in Key West this week.
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