Air Conditioning - Gas or Electric?

It's time to replace my central air and heat system.I now have electric for cooling and gas heat.I live in the desert so cooling is the big bill,while winters are mild. Would gas ac be cheaper to run than electric? Is it better to be all electric or gas than using both?My current system is over 20 years old.
Wold like all sugestions from our great AC people here.:rolleyes:

What are your electric rates?....Gas rates?...A heat pump might be in order, with either dual fuel or electric strip backup based on that info.

I was going to suggest heat pump too, considering how well they perform in mild winter weather. You'd probably rarely use your aux heat.

Since your A/C is used more than anything, a higher SEER unit would be in order.

For general tips, get 3 bids and make sure that a Manual J heat loss/load calculation is performed to size your new unit!

In the winter my electric is about $50,gas about $150.During summer my electric is about $300 and gas is about $25.
So I figure around $125 to heat in winter and $250 electric to cool in summer.
I know the new units are much more efficient than my old one.So I should see a decrease in my bill after installing a new one.But if I'm gonna spend the money to get a new system I want to get the best one that will reduce my energy bills.

That's where SEER comes in. The higher the SEER, the more energy savings. The higher upfront cost for a high SEER should be offset by the fact your cooling season is longer than your heating season. Some older units are around 10 SEER or so, and there are some new ones listed as up to 20 (just saw a thread of someone who had installed that particular SEER Lennox).

Without actual kw rates and therm rates, it sounds like your area is similar or higher than mine....from afar, I'd recommend a dual fuel heat pump/80% furnace combo...if you go 90 plus and too high of seer, the payback is going to take about as long as the expected lifetime of the system. I'm sure you will get differing opinions from mine.

I'll also add, check with local electric company about if they give discount for heatpump and furnace on it's own meter....it costs a little more for the wiring, but I pay .06 per kw in the summer and .04 in the winter...my neighbors pay .11 year round.