AC Installation in Cartersville, GA
A new air conditioner in Cartersville will run from May through September every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Bartow County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Five months of Cartersville heat, most years
From May through September your air conditioner runs almost every day, working against afternoon highs that average 88°F. That is the stretch that wears down a unit, and it is worth putting in equipment built to handle it.
Bartow County has also seen its share of hail and wind over the past ten years, including hailstones up to 1.75 inches. An outdoor condenser sits exposed to that, so the cabinet and coil fins matter as much as the size of the unit. If you're installing new, anything built since 2023 has to meet a federal minimum of 14.3 SEER2, so that baseline is already covered. The question is what fits your home beyond it.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 88°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 12 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 Bartow County home, from EIA household energy data, Georgia fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Georgia requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
That license comes from the State Construction Industry Licensing Board, and it belongs to the contractor, not to any single job.
For this job, the license is what stands behind the person doing the work. Beyond that, most cities and counties in Georgia require a permit for an air conditioner installation, along with an inspection once the unit is in. That permit and inspection depend on the local building office, not on the license.
Source: Georgia Secretary of State
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- There's no single answer without a load calculation done for your house. A contractor works out the right size from your square footage, the insulation you have, how many windows you have and which way they face, and your ceiling height. Going bigger than what you need isn't a safety net, it actually causes problems. An oversized unit cools the air fast and shuts off before it pulls the humidity out of the house, so the place feels clammy even at the right temperature. The unit also cycles on and off more, which wears it out faster. A contractor can run the calculation and tell you the right size for your specific house.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- If your indoor coil and outdoor unit are different ages or different efficiency ratings, replacing just the outdoor unit usually isn't a good idea. The two are matched to work together, and pairing a new condenser with an old coil can mean the system never reaches the efficiency it's rated for, plus it can void the manufacturer's warranty on the new part. If both parts are close in age and matched already, a contractor may be able to replace just the outdoor unit. That's a call a contractor needs to make after looking at what you have.
- Do HVAC contractors in Cartersville need a state license to work on my home?
- Yes. Georgia requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license, issued by the State Construction Industry Licensing Board. Ask to see the license number before work starts, and you can check it against the board's records if you want to confirm it yourself.