In Florida, where air conditioning is considered more of a human right than a luxury, what is apparently the country’s very first solar-powered central AC unit has been installed. With a price tag of about twice that of a standard unit, this Sedna Air system uses the sun to superheat its environmentally-friendly fluid. This means the compressor doesn’t have to do anything but pump. And that means the unit saves mongo electricity. Usually, the compressor literally compresses the refrigerant fluid to produce heat, changing it from a cool low-pressure gas to a hot high-pressure gas that flows through the condenser to become liquid. That cooled liquid then absorbs heat from the building and changes back to gas and cycles into the compressor again. (Now you know enough about air conditioners to bore your friends at parties–congratulations!)

So, why is this the first solar-powered AC unit, if it makes so much darned sense? As I mentioned, the cost is much higher, though the amount it knocks off your electric bill should help it pay for itself long before its useful life is over. Because of this, a solar-powered AC wouldn’t be ideal for those parts of the country that only use AC a few months (or weeks) per year–the units would take far longer to pay for themselves. Also, these units make most sense for the hottest regions because they’re more efficient at higher temperatures:

It’s no secret that in this traditional system, the hotter it is outside, the harder and longer the AC works and the more electricity it uses. With Sedna, [Sedna Air president Jim] Hammond said, the hotter it is outside, the fewer amps used and the more efficient.

“In any air conditioning, the only components that use electricity are fans to move the air in the compressor and condenser,” Hammond said. “When you use 23 amps that way, you only use 7 with solar powering.”

This inaugural installation was performed by American Solar Energy, LLC, for a customer who already uses solar to heat his home’s hot water and swimming pool.