AC Installation in Hendersonville, NC
A new air conditioner in Hendersonville will run from June through August every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Henderson County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Three months of real heat, then a long rest
Summer here runs June through August, and afternoons average 81°F. That is a short season compared to a lot of the country, but it is real heat, and your air conditioner has to be sized to handle it on the hottest days, not just the average ones.
Hail and wind show up in the storm record too, 23 hail events and 42 damaging wind events over the last ten years. An outdoor condenser sits exposed to that. Any new system installed here has to meet the federal minimum of 14.3 SEER2, and that number tells you the unit was built to a baseline efficiency standard, not how big it needs to be for your house.
- 3 months
- June through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 81°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 23 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 $10 a year.
Estimates for a typical Henderson County home, from EIA household energy data, North Carolina fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
North Carolina requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license comes from North Carolina's State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler Contractors, and it belongs to the contractor, not to any one job. It is not tied to this installation or any other single job the contractor takes on.
For an air conditioner installation in Henderson County, that license is what stands behind the person doing the work. The county's building office checks the job itself. Most cities and counties require a permit for this kind of installation and an inspection once it's done. The license says who is allowed to do the work. The permit and inspection say whether this particular job was done right.
Sources: North Carolina General Assembly · North Carolina State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler Contractors
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- There's no single number that fits every house, it comes down to a load calculation, not just square footage. A contractor works this out using your home's square footage, insulation, window placement, and layout, since an oversized unit cools too fast and shuts off before it pulls the humidity out of the air, and an undersized one runs constantly and still can't keep up. With summer highs here only averaging around 81°F, the bigger risk in Hendersonville tends to be oversizing, not under. Have a contractor run the calculation on your actual house rather than going by the size of the unit you're replacing.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- If your indoor coil and outdoor unit were installed together as a matched system, replacing only the outdoor unit usually isn't a good idea. Air conditioners are designed to work as a pair, the indoor coil and outdoor condenser are matched for the same refrigerant charge and airflow. Pairing a new outdoor unit with an old indoor coil can hurt efficiency and shorten the life of the new equipment, and some manufacturers won't warranty a mismatched setup at all. A contractor can check the age and condition of your indoor coil to tell you whether it's worth keeping.
- Do HVAC contractors in Hendersonville need a state license to work on my home?
- Yes. North Carolina requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license, issued through the State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler Contractors. The license is held by the contractor, not tied to any one job. For an AC installation, you'll also need a permit from the local building office, with an inspection once the work is finished.