AC Installation in West Memphis, AR
A new air conditioner in West Memphis will run from May through September every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Crittenden County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Five months of 90 degree afternoons
West Memphis runs its air conditioner May through September. That's five months of summer afternoons averaging 90°F, and the unit you install this year needs to handle all five without a break.
If you're putting in new central air, it has to meet 14.3 SEER2, the federal minimum that took effect in 2023. Crittenden County has also seen 27 damaging wind events and 8 hail events over the past ten years, so whatever goes in outside needs to hold up to more than heat.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 90°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 8 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 Crittenden 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 as a business, not issued fresh for each job they do. Arkansas checked them once to get that license, and the state keeps that record. Cities and counties in Arkansas cannot add their own HVAC license on top of it. The state's license is the whole answer here, not just the starting point.
For an air conditioner installation, that license is what stands behind the person doing the work. The other piece comes from the local building office. Most cities and counties require a permit for this job and an inspection once it is done. That inspection checks the installation itself, separate from the license.
Source: Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- The right size depends on your home's square footage, layout, insulation, and window exposure, not on a simple chart. A unit that's too big cools the air fast but shuts off before it pulls the moisture out, so rooms feel damp. One that's too small runs constantly and still can't keep up on a 90°F afternoon here. A contractor works this out with a load calculation that looks at your actual house, not a guess based on square footage alone.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- If your indoor and outdoor units are original to each other and similar in age, replacing just the outdoor unit usually isn't the better move. The indoor coil and outdoor unit are matched to work together, and pairing an old coil with a new condenser can mean the system never reaches the efficiency it's rated for. Age matters too. Homes here run the AC from May through September, five months a year, and a coil that's already logged that many seasons is closer to the end of its life than the new unit sitting next to it. A contractor can check whether your coil and refrigerant type are still compatible with current equipment before deciding.
- Do HVAC contractors in West Memphis 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 it before any work starts on your home.