AC Installation in Oklahoma City, OK
A new air conditioner in Oklahoma City will run from May through September every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Oklahoma County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Five months of heat, and hail on top of it
Your air conditioner runs from May through September here, five months a year, with summer afternoons averaging 92°F. That is the stretch it has to work without a break.
Oklahoma County has also seen 296 hail events over the last ten years, with hailstones as large as 2.75 inches, and 253 damaging wind events in that same period. The unit sits outside through all of it. A new central air conditioner installed today has to meet a federal minimum of 14.3 SEER2, so that much is settled before you choose anything else.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 92°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 296 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 Oklahoma County home, from EIA household energy data, Oklahoma fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Oklahoma requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
That license comes from the Construction Industries Board, which tests contractors before they can hold one. It covers the contractor, not the job, so the same license applies to this installation and to the next one that contractor does.
For this job, the license is what stands behind the person doing the work. The installation itself still goes through the local building office. Most cities and counties in the area require a permit for a new air conditioner and an inspection once it is in, which checks the work separately from anything the license already covers.
Source: Oklahoma State Legislature
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- It depends on your home's square footage, insulation, windows, and layout, not just a rule of thumb. A contractor works this out with a load calculation, which looks at how much heat your home gains through the walls, roof, and windows on a hot afternoon. Guessing at size causes real problems either way. Too small and it runs constantly without keeping up on the hottest days here. Too large and it cools the air fast without running long enough to pull the humidity out, so the house feels clammy even at the right temperature.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- In most cases you replace both the outdoor unit and the indoor coil together. The two are matched to work at a specific efficiency and capacity, and pairing a new outdoor unit with an old coil often means it never runs the way it was designed to. It can also void the manufacturer's warranty on the new equipment. A contractor can tell you the age and condition of your indoor coil and whether it makes sense to keep it.
- Do HVAC contractors in Oklahoma City need a state license to work on my home?
- Yes. Oklahoma requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license, issued through the Construction Industries Board. The license is held by the contractor, not issued job by job, so it's worth asking to see it before work starts. Installing a new air conditioner also usually needs a permit from the local building office, with an inspection once the job is done.