AC Installation in Pottsville, PA
A new air conditioner in Pottsville will run from July through August every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Schuylkill County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Two months of real heat is still enough to wear an AC down
Pottsville only asks for cooling in July and August, with afternoons averaging around 80°F. That is a short season, but it is not a mild one, and a new system still has to keep up on the hottest days those two months bring.
Schuylkill County has also logged 71 damaging wind events and 6 hail storms over the past ten years, with hailstones up to 2 inches. Whatever unit goes in needs to sit up to that, not just the heat. Any new central air conditioner installed today has to meet 13.4 SEER2, the federal efficiency minimum, so that part is decided before you even pick a model.
- 2 months
- July through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 80°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 6 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 Schuylkill County home, from EIA household energy data, Pennsylvania fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Pennsylvania requires contractors to register with the state.
That registration puts the business on file with the Bureau of Consumer Protection. Nobody tested the contractor's HVAC work to get it. It's a record that they exist and can be found, not a check on whether they install an air conditioner correctly. Cities and towns in Pennsylvania can't add their own HVAC license on top of that.
For this installation, the protection comes from the local building office rather than the state. In most cities and counties, putting in a new air conditioner needs a permit, and the work gets an inspection once it's done. That inspection is what checks the refrigerant lines and wiring were done right, not the state registration.
Source: Pennsylvania General Assembly
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- It depends on your square footage, your ceiling height, how much shade and sun your walls and windows get, and how well your attic and walls are insulated. A contractor works this out with a load calculation, not a chart based on square footage alone. Going bigger than what the calculation calls for isn't a safety margin. An oversized unit cools the air fast then shuts off before it pulls the humidity out of your house, so rooms feel damp and clammy even at the temperature you set. A contractor will run the numbers for your specific house.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- In most cases you replace both together. The outdoor condenser and the indoor coil are matched to work at a specific efficiency. Pair a new condenser with an old coil and you usually lose the efficiency gain you're paying for, and sometimes the two won't run correctly together at all. Age matters too. 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 condition and compatibility of what you have and tell you whether the coil is worth keeping.
- Do HVAC contractors in Pottsville need a state license to work on my home?
- Pennsylvania doesn't license HVAC contractors, but it does require them to register with the state. That registration goes through the Bureau of Consumer Protection. Ask to see proof of registration before work starts.