AC Installation in Searcy, AR
A new air conditioner in Searcy will run from May through September every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers White County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Five months of Searcy summer is hard on a new system
From May through September your air conditioner runs against afternoons that average 90°F. That is five months of steady work, not just a few hot weeks, and the unit you install now has to hold up through all of them, year after year.
White County also sees its share of hail and wind, 39 hail events and 52 damaging wind events over the last ten years, with hail up to 2.25 inches recorded. The condenser sits outside through all of that. Any new central air conditioner installed today has to meet the federal minimum of 14.3 SEER2, so it starts out efficient. What matters after that is whether it's sized and installed to handle a Searcy summer and whatever comes with it.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 90°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 39 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 White County home, from EIA household energy data, Arkansas fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Arkansas requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license is held by the contractor, not issued job by job. Arkansas tests and records the business itself, and that record does not reset for every installation. Counties and cities in the state cannot layer on their own HVAC license, so the state's is the one that applies in White County.
For this job, that license is what stands behind the person doing the work. On top of it, replacing an air conditioner in most cities and counties still needs a permit from the local building office and an inspection once the installation is finished, which checks that the work was done correctly at this address.
Source: Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing
- 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 looks at your insulation, window area, ceiling height, and how much shade your house gets, since two homes the same size can need different tonnage. An oversized unit cools the air fast but shuts off before it pulls the humidity out, so summers here from May through September end up feeling damp indoors. A contractor can run this calculation for your house and tell you the size that fits it.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- In most cases replacing just the outdoor unit is not a good option. Indoor and outdoor units are matched to work together, and pairing a new condenser with an old coil and old refrigerant lines usually means lower efficiency and a shorter life for the new part. Age matters too. If the indoor coil is old enough to fail soon after, you end up paying for labor on top of the equipment you already bought. A contractor can check the condition and age of your indoor unit and tell you whether it makes sense to pair it with new outdoor equipment.
- Do HVAC contractors in Searcy need a state license to work on my home?
- Yes. Arkansas requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license to do this work. Ask to see the license number before signing any agreement, and you can verify it with the state licensing board if you want to confirm it is current.