AC Installation in Valdosta, GA
A new air conditioner in Valdosta will run from May through October every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Lowndes County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Six months of Valdosta heat, and storms that test the unit outside
Your air conditioner runs from May through October here, six months of the year, with summer afternoons averaging 91°F. That is the stretch a new system has to be sized and installed to handle.
Lowndes County has also logged 269 damaging wind events and 12 hail events over the past ten years, with one hailstone recorded at 1.75 inches. Any new central air conditioner installed today has to meet the federal efficiency minimum of 14.3 SEER2.
- 6 months
- May through October, your air conditioner is on duty
- 91°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
A higher-efficiency unit would save about $30 a year to run in Lowndes County compared with a new unit at the federal minimum.
Estimates for a typical Lowndes 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.
Georgia licenses HVAC contractors through the State Construction Industry Licensing Board. That license is issued to the contractor, not the job, so it stays with them from one install to the next rather than being pulled for this one and set aside after.
For an air conditioner install in Lowndes County, that license is what stands behind the person doing the work. Most cities and counties in Georgia also require a permit for this kind of job, with an inspection once the work is done, so someone from the local building office checks the installation before it's considered finished.
Source: Georgia Secretary of State
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- The right size depends on your home's square footage, insulation, window placement, and layout, so there is no single number that fits every house. A contractor will figure this out with a load calculation rather than a rule of thumb, because an oversized unit cools fast but won't run long enough to pull humidity out of the air, and an undersized one will run constantly and still struggle on a 91 degree afternoon. With cooling season here running May through October, getting the size right matters more than in places with shorter summers. Have a contractor measure your home and size the system for it.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- If your indoor and outdoor units are close in age, replacing just the outdoor unit usually is not the better move. The two are matched to work together, and pairing a new outdoor unit with an old indoor coil can mean it never runs at the efficiency it is rated for, and sometimes voids the warranty. New central air conditioners have to meet a 14.3 SEER2 minimum now, and matching that efficiency usually calls for a coil built for it. A contractor can look at both units and tell you whether the coil and refrigerant lines will work with a new outdoor unit or whether the whole system needs to come out together.
- Do HVAC contractors in Valdosta 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. For an AC installation, you will also likely need a permit from the local building office, with an inspection once the work is done. Ask to see the contractor's license number before the work starts, and confirm the permit gets pulled.