AC Installation in Moab, UT
A new air conditioner in Moab will run from June through August every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Grand County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Three months of real heat, and storms in between
Moab summers average 89°F in the afternoon, June through August. That is the stretch a new air conditioner has to handle, and it needs to cycle on and off reliably through all of it.
Grand County has also logged 55 damaging wind events and 11 hail events over the past ten years, one hailstone as big as 1.5 inches. An outdoor condenser sits exposed to that. Any new install since 2023 has to meet a federal minimum of 13.4 SEER2, so efficiency is already built into what you're allowed to buy.
- 3 months
- June through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 89°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 11 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
A higher-efficiency unit would save about $30 a year to run in Grand County compared with a new unit at the federal minimum.
Estimates for a typical Grand County home, from EIA household energy data, Utah fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Utah requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license comes from the Division of Professional Licensing, and it covers the contractor rather than the specific job. That means the person or company has been tested and is on record with the state. Utah also sets a line at $7,000. Work under that amount does not need a licensed contractor, so on smaller jobs this protection may not apply.
An air conditioner installation is the kind of job the license is meant to stand behind, once the cost passes that line. Beyond the license, the local building office is the other check in place. Most cities and counties require a permit for a new air conditioner and an inspection once it is installed, and that inspection confirms the unit was put in correctly, separate from anything the state license covers.
Sources: Utah State Legislature · Utah Department of Commerce
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- It depends on your square footage, ceiling height, how much shade the house gets, and how well it holds cold air, not just the size of the house next door. A contractor works this out with a load calculation, checking your windows, insulation, and layout room by room. Getting this right matters more here than it sounds. An undersized unit will run constantly trying to keep up on afternoons near 89°F, and an oversized one will cool the air fast without pulling the humidity down, then shut off before the house feels right.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- If your outdoor unit is failing but the indoor coil and furnace are newer and in good shape, replacing just the outdoor unit can work. But the two halves of a central air system are matched to work together, so pairing a new outdoor unit with an old indoor coil can mean the system never runs at the efficiency either piece was built for. A contractor can check whether your indoor coil matches what current outdoor units need before deciding. If both are old, replacing the whole system at once is usually the straightforward path.
- Do HVAC contractors in Moab need a state license to work on my home?
- Yes, for a job like an air conditioner installation. Utah requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license through the Division of Professional Licensing, and that license covers the contractor, not each individual job. Utah allows smaller jobs to go forward without a licensed contractor, but an AC installation does not qualify as one of those. A contractor will price the job for your house, and most cities and counties also require a permit from the local building office, with an inspection once the work is done.