AC Installation in St. George, UT
A new air conditioner in St. George will run from June through September every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Washington County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Four months of real heat
St. George asks a lot from an air conditioner in a short stretch of the year. Summer afternoons average 90°F from June through September, and that unit has to keep up every one of those days.
Hail and wind show up here too. Ten years of storm records show 7 hail events, one dropping a hailstone 1.75 inches wide, and 60 damaging wind events. An outdoor unit sits outside through all of that. Any new central air conditioner installed now also has to meet the federal efficiency minimum of 13.4 SEER2.
- 4 months
- June through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 90°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 7 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 $60 a year to run in Washington County compared with a new unit at the federal minimum.
Estimates for a typical Washington 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 Utah's Division of Professional Licensing. It means the state tested the contractor and keeps a record of them, and it covers the contractor, not this particular job. Work under $7,000 does not need a licensed contractor in Utah. An air conditioner installation almost always runs above that, so the license applies here.
The license is what stands behind this job. Beyond it, most cities and counties also require a permit for an installation like this, along with an inspection once the work is done. That inspection is where someone other than the contractor looks at what was installed.
Sources: Utah State Legislature · Utah Department of Commerce
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- The right size depends on your home's square footage, how many windows it has, which way they face, how much insulation is in the attic and walls, and the layout of the ductwork. A unit that's too big cools the air fast but shuts off before it pulls the humidity down, so the house feels clammy. A unit that's too small runs constantly and still can't keep up on a 90 degree afternoon. A contractor works this out with a load calculation on your actual house, not a chart based on square feet alone.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- If the indoor coil and outdoor unit weren't installed together, replacing just the outdoor unit can cause problems. The two are matched to work at a specific capacity and efficiency, and pairing a new condenser with an old coil can hurt performance or shorten the life of the new equipment. Some manufacturers also void the warranty if the coil doesn't match. A contractor can check the age and condition of the coil and tell you whether it's safe to pair with new outdoor equipment or whether both need to go in together.
- Do HVAC contractors in St. George need a state license to work on my home?
- Yes. Utah requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license through the Division of Professional Licensing, and an air conditioner installation is the kind of job that requirement is meant to cover. You'll also want a permit pulled with the local building office, since replacing an air conditioner usually needs one along with an inspection when the work is finished. A contractor can confirm what's needed for your house and price the job.