ENERGY STAR® Qualifying Criteria for Room Air Conditioners

Room air conditioners must meet Canada's Energy Efficiency Regulations before they can qualify for the ENERGY STAR symbol in Canada.

1. Definitions

  1. EER: the acronym for energy efficiency ratio. This is the ratio of the cooling effect measured in Btu/hr. divided by the electrical energy in watts.
  2. RAC: the acronym for room air conditioner.
  3. Standard style: refers to a RAC designed for mounting in a slider or hung window (louvered sides) or through the wall (no louvered sides).
  4. Casement-only style: refers to a RAC designed for mounting in a casement window with an encased assembly of 37.6 cm or less in width and 28.5 cm or less in height.
  5. Casement-slider style: refers to a RAC designed for mounting in a casement or sliding window with an encased assembly of 39.4 cm or less in width.
  6. PTAC: PTAC is the acronym for packaged terminal air conditioner. PTACs are self-contained air-conditioning units installed through the wall. A PTAC may be connected to ductwork or include electrical resistance heating.

2. Qualifying Products

RAC units without reverse cycle and without internal heating elements designed for window mounting or through-the-wall mounting. PTACs are not eligible for an ENERGY STAR label.

3. Test Standard

CAN/CSA-C368.1-M90

4. Specifications

Only those products listed in Section 2 that meet or exceed the energy efficiency specifications in Table 1 may qualify for ENERGY STAR.

Style Btu/hr. EER
(louvered sides)		 EER
(no louvered sides)
Standard < 6 000 >= 10.7 >= 9.9
  6 000 to 7 999 >= 10.7 >= 9.9
  8 000 to 13 999 >= 10.8 >= 9.4
  14 000 to 19 999 >= 10.7 >= 9.4
  >= 20 000 >= 9.4 >= 9.4
Casement-only N/A >= 9.6 N/A
Casement-slider N/A >= 10.5 N/A

5. Future Revisions

Natural Resources Canada reserves the right to change the ENERGY STAR qualifying technical specifications for room air conditioners should conditions warrant it.