AC Installation in Stonecrest, GA
A new air conditioner in Stonecrest will run from May through September every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers DeKalb County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Five months of Stonecrest summers on one system
Your air conditioner in Stonecrest works from May through September, five months of the year, with summer afternoons averaging 88°F. That is the stretch where the compressor runs longest and hardest, day after day.
A new central air conditioner installed here has to meet a federal minimum of 14.3 SEER2, the efficiency rating set for units built since 2023. DeKalb County has also seen its share of severe weather, with 132 damaging wind events and 14 hail events over the past ten years, including hail up to 1.75 inches. An outdoor condenser sits exposed to all of it, so how it's installed and protected matters as much as the unit itself.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 88°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 14 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 DeKalb 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 State Construction Industry Licensing Board issues that license, and it belongs to the contractor, not to any single job. The board tested the contractor before handing it over, and it keeps a record of who holds one. That license does not expire once this installation is done. It stays attached to the contractor for the next homeowner who hires them.
For this job, the license is what stands behind the work, but it is not the only check. In most cities and counties, installing a new air conditioner needs a permit from the local building office, and the work gets inspected once it is finished. That inspection is where the refrigerant line set, the electrical hookup, and the unit's placement get looked over by someone outside the contractor's own crew. The license says who is allowed to do the job. The permit and inspection say the job was actually checked when it was done.
Source: Georgia Secretary of State
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- There's no single answer that works for every house, and going by square footage alone gets it wrong more often than not. The right size depends on your home's insulation, how many windows you have and which way they face, your attic setup, and the layout of your ductwork. A contractor sizes the unit with a load calculation that accounts for all of that, not a rule of thumb. Putting in a unit that's too big cools the air fast but shuts off before it pulls the moisture out, so the house feels damp even at the right temperature.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- In most cases replacing just the outdoor unit is not a good idea. The outdoor condenser and the indoor coil are matched to work together, and pairing a new condenser with an old coil often means it never runs at the efficiency it's rated for, and can shorten its life. If your indoor coil is old enough that the outdoor unit is failing, the coil is usually close behind it. A contractor can check the age and condition of the coil and tell you whether it's worth keeping.
- Do HVAC contractors in Stonecrest 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, or look it up with the board directly.