AC Installation in Florence, AL
A new air conditioner in Florence will run from May through September every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Lauderdale County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Five months of Florence summer heat
Your air conditioner runs from May through September here, with summer afternoons averaging 89°F. That is five straight months of the compressor cycling on through the heat of the day.
Lauderdale County has also seen its share of rough weather, with 653 damaging wind events and 26 hail events over the past ten years. An outdoor condenser sits exposed to all of that, so the unit going in should be set up and installed to hold up outside. If you're installing new, federal rules require any new central air conditioner to meet a minimum efficiency of 14.3 SEER2.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 89°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 26 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 Lauderdale 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 tests and licenses the contractor, not the job itself. That license stays with the business across every install it does in the state, in Lauderdale County or anywhere else. It tells you the person running the crew was tested and is on record with the state, not that this specific job was checked by anyone.
That check comes from the local building office instead. Installing a new air conditioner in most cities and counties means a permit and an inspection once the work is finished, and that inspection is what confirms the wiring, the refrigerant lines and the unit itself were put in correctly. The license tells you who is allowed to do the work. The permit and inspection tell you this particular install passed.
Source: Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- There is no single answer without a load calculation done on your actual house. A contractor figures this out by looking at your square footage, insulation, window count and orientation, and ceiling height, not just floor space. Going too big is as much a problem as going too small, since an oversized unit cools the air fast but shuts off before it pulls the moisture out, leaving the house feeling damp. With summer afternoons here reaching 89°F for five months of the year, getting this number right matters more in Florence than in a milder climate, so ask the contractor to walk you through their calculation rather than quote a size off the square footage alone.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- If your indoor and outdoor units were installed together and are close in age, replace both at the same time. Mismatched systems, an old indoor coil paired with a new outdoor unit, run less efficiently and can shorten the life of the new part, since the coil and the compressor are matched to work at specific pressures together. If the indoor coil is already old, a contractor may find it cannot handle the refrigerant the new outdoor unit needs. Ask the contractor to inspect the coil and the age of both pieces before deciding, since a house here with hail damage or storm wear on the outdoor unit may need more than a straight swap.
- Do HVAC contractors in Florence 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 number before work starts, and you can check it against the board's records if you want to confirm it is current.