AC Installation in Athens, AL
A new air conditioner in Athens will run from May through September every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Limestone County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Five months of Athens heat, every year
From May through September your air conditioner runs most days, working against summer afternoons that average 89°F. That is a long stretch of steady work, and it is what a new system has to be sized and installed for.
Athens has also seen its share of hail and wind, 31 hail events and 171 damaging wind events over the past ten years, with hailstones as large as 2.5 inches. The outdoor unit sits outside through all of it, so a new one belongs where it has some protection. If you're installing new, it has to meet the federal efficiency minimum of 14.3 SEER2.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 89°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 31 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 13.4 SEER2
- the federal minimum any new unit must meet
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Going above the federal minimum saves little here, about $20 a year.
Estimates for a typical Limestone County home, from EIA household energy data, Alabama fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Alabama requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Contractors issues that license to the contractor. It covers the contractor, not this particular job. So it stands behind whoever you hire no matter what job they're doing for you, not this installation on its own.
For an air conditioner going in at your place in Limestone County, that state license is what stands behind the person doing the work. It runs alongside a separate check on the job itself. In most cities and counties here, an air conditioner installation needs a permit from the local building office, and an inspection once the work is done.
Source: Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- The right size comes from a load calculation, not a rule of thumb based on square footage. A contractor works out how much heat your house gains through the walls, windows, attic and ductwork, then matches the unit to that number. Athens summer afternoons average 89°F, and a unit sized off a guess instead of a load calculation will run long hours and still leave rooms uneven. Too big is its own problem too, since it cools the air fast but shuts off before it pulls the moisture out, leaving the house feeling damp.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- If the indoor coil and furnace are old too, replacing just the outdoor unit usually causes problems. Air conditioners are matched systems, the outdoor unit and the indoor coil are engineered to work together, and pairing a new one with an old coil hurts efficiency and can shorten the life of the new equipment. A contractor can check the age and condition of the indoor coil and tell you whether it can be matched to new outdoor equipment or whether both need to go at once. New central air conditioners have to meet 14.3 SEER2 now, so a new outdoor unit on its own is often already ahead of what the old coil was built to handle.
- Do HVAC contractors in Athens need a state license to work on my home?
- Yes. Alabama requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license, issued by the Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Contractors. Ask to see the license before work starts, or check it with the board directly.