AC Installation in Savannah, GA
A new air conditioner in Savannah will run from May through October every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Chatham County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Six months of Savannah heat, and storms on top of it
Your air conditioner runs from May through October here, six months of the year, with summer afternoons averaging 91°F. That is a long stretch for a compressor to carry the load, and it means a new system needs to be sized right from the start, not just close enough.
Chatham County also sees its share of hail and wind. Ten years of records show 32 hail events and 246 damaging wind events, with hail up to 1.75 inches. The outdoor unit sits outside through all of it, so where it goes and how it is installed matters as much as the equipment itself. Any new central air conditioner built since 2023 has to meet a federal minimum of 14.3 SEER2, so that baseline is already set before you choose anything else.
- 6 months
- May through October, your air conditioner is on duty
- 91°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 32 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 $30 a year to run in Chatham County compared with a new unit at the federal minimum.
Estimates for a typical Chatham 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.
The license is issued to the contractor, not to this particular job. The state tested the contractor and keeps a record of that license through the State Construction Industry Licensing Board, and that record stands behind any work the contractor takes on, including an installation like this one.
For an air conditioner install, that license is what backs the work, but it is not the only check on it. In most cities and counties here, putting in a new air conditioner needs a permit from the local building office, and an inspector checks the finished work before it is signed off.
Source: Georgia Secretary of State
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- There is no answer to that without looking at the house. Square footage matters, but so does how much shade the house gets, how many windows face west, how much insulation is in the attic, and how tight the ductwork is. A unit that is too big cools the air fast but shuts off before it pulls the moisture out, so the house feels clammy even at the right temperature. A unit that is too small runs constantly and still cannot keep up on a 91 degree afternoon. A contractor will do a load calculation on your actual house and size it from that, not from a chart.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- In most cases the outdoor unit and the indoor coil need to be matched, so replacing only one usually is not a real option. They are built to work at a matched capacity and efficiency. Put a new outdoor unit on an old coil and it will not run the way it is rated to, and it can shorten the life of the new equipment. A contractor can look at the age and condition of both pieces and tell you whether the coil is worth keeping.
- Do HVAC contractors in Savannah 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 it before work starts.