Air conditioners sold in the United States are given a seasonal energy-efficienc

Question

Air conditioners sold in the United States are given a seasonal energy-efficiency ratio (SEER) rating that consumers can use to compare different models. A SEER rating is the ratio of heat pumped to energy input, similar to a COP but using English units, so a higher SEER rating means a more efficient model. You can determine the COP of an air conditioner by dividing the SEER rating by 3.4.


For inside temperature 26 C and outside temperature 35 C when you'd be using air conditioning, estimate the theoretical maximum SEER rating of an air conditioner. (New air conditioners must have a SEER rating that exceeds 13, quite a bit less than the theoretical maximum, but there are practical issues that reduce efficiency.)

Explanation / Answer

Consider the air conditioner has heat pump in cooling application. The COP for such a heat pump is limited by the following maximum value [1]:
COP COP_max = T_cold(T_hot - T_cold)

For your air conditioner:
COP_max = (273 + 26)K/(12K) = 24.91

As stated in the problem the SEER rating is 3.4 times the COP. Hence,
SEER_max = 3.4 COP_max = 3.4 24.91

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