Residential Central Air Conditioners

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The North, Southeast, and Southwest regions have different energy efficiency standards and installation requirements. The map above shows existing regions. In the North, national standards apply, and compliance is based on the date of manufacture.

Regional standards are enforced by the date of installation and apply only to central air conditioners in the Southeast and Southwest regions. Central air conditioners installed on or after January 1, 2023, in these regions must meet 2023 energy efficiency standards on the date of installation. 

National (North) Standards for ACs

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The map above shows the North region, where national standards apply.

Under M1, the split-system AC standard is now 13.4 SEER2 (14 SEER), compared to the pre-2023 level of 13 SEER. The single package unit standard is now 13.4 SEER2 (14 SEER). The single package unit standard is approximately the same as the pre-2023 standard.

In the North, any split or single-packaged air conditioners manufactured before January 1, 2023 may be installed after January 1, 2023 as long as they were compliant with pre-2023 standards.

The table below shows Appendix M standards and metrics applicable pre-2023 with those of Appendix M1.

Southeast Regional Standards

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The map above shows the Southeast region, where regional standards apply.

Split-System

Under pre-2023 standards, all split-system ACs in the Southeast operated with the minimum efficiency standard of 14 SEER. Under M1, the Southeast region’s minimum efficiency standard for split-system ACs below 4.5 tons (45k BTU) is now 14.3 SEER2 (15 SEER), and the minimum efficiency standard for split-system ACs above 4.5 tons (45k BTU) is now 13.8 SEER2 (14.5 SEER). In the Southeast region, split-system standards are enforced by date of installation. Split-system air conditioners manufactured before January 1, 2023 that do not meet M1 standards can no longer be installed after January 1, 2023.

Single-Packaged

In the Southeast, just like in the North, single-package air conditioning units will have a minimum efficiency of 13.4 SEER2 in 2023. This is the same efficiency as the pre-2023 14 SEER minimum. Like in the North, enforcement is based on the date of manufacture. Any packaged AC meeting pre-2023 standards manufactured before January 1, 2023, can be installed throughout the region, as long as the units are compliant with pre-2023 standards.

The table below shows the difference between Appendix M and Appendix M1 standards for split-system and single packaged ACs in the Southwest region.

Southwest Regional Standards

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The map above shows the Southwest region where regional standards apply.

In the Southwest, split-system minimum energy efficiencies have changed with Appendix M1 just as they have in the Southeast. Additionally, ACs in the Southwest must also comply with a full-load Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) minimum, per pre-2023 requirements. There are now different EER minimums based on SEER rating. Higher SEER equipment is permitted to have a lower EER rating, as these are multi-stage products that operate most often in a reduced capacity state and meet the region’s needs.

Single packaged ACs in the Southwest maintain the same minimum efficiencies in force pre-2023 (14 SEER and 11 EER). However, manufacturers will need to test these ACs to the new, more stringent test procedure.

Enforcement for all ACs in the Southwest region is based on the date of installation. Units that do not meet the new minimum energy efficiencies cannot be installed on or after January 1, 2023.

The table below shows the difference between Appendix M and Appendix M1 standards for split-system and single package ACs in the Southeast region.

Note: The lower EER requirement is for equipment at or above 15.2 SEER2 (Equivalent to 16.0 SEER) using the M1 test method. Only EER is enforced as a regional standard.