AC Installation in Wilkes-Barre, PA
A new air conditioner in Wilkes-Barre will run from July through August every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Luzerne 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 a unit out
Wilkes-Barre only asks for cooling in July and August, with afternoons averaging 79°F. That is a short season, but it means your air conditioner sits unused most of the year and then has to start up reliably when the heat arrives.
A new unit installed today has to meet a federal minimum of 13.4 SEER2, so whatever goes in will be built for that baseline efficiency. Luzerne County also sees its share of hail and wind, including 22 hail events and 151 damaging wind events over the past ten years, so the outdoor unit needs to sit where it has some protection and be installed solidly.
- 2 months
- July through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 79°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 22 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 Luzerne 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 state and nothing more. There is no trade exam behind it, and no state inspector checks the work afterward. Pennsylvania also does not let Luzerne County or its cities and towns add their own HVAC license on top of that, so this registration is the only state-level record that exists for the contractor you hire.
For an air conditioner installation, the protection on this job comes from the local building office rather than from any license. Most cities and counties require a permit for this kind of installation, with an inspection once the work is finished, and that inspection is what checks the work was done right.
Source: Pennsylvania General Assembly
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- The right size depends on your square footage, your ceiling height, how many windows you have and which way they face, how much insulation is in your attic and walls, and what's above and below your living space. A contractor works this out with a load calculation, not a rule of thumb based on your home's square footage alone. Putting in a unit that's too big cools the air fast but shuts off before it pulls the humidity down, so the house feels clammy even at the right temperature. Too small, and it runs nonstop on hot afternoons and still can't keep up. A contractor who comes out and measures your house is the only way to get this number right.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- In most cases you replace both the outdoor unit and the indoor coil together. Air conditioners are matched pairs, and the outdoor condenser is engineered to work with a specific coil size and refrigerant charge. Put a new condenser on an old coil and you risk poor cooling, higher energy use, and a compressor that wears out early. A contractor can check whether your existing coil and ductwork can handle a new outdoor unit, but plan on the pair going in together unless there's a specific reason not to.
- Do HVAC contractors in Wilkes-Barre 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 through the Bureau of Consumer Protection. Ask to see proof of that registration before signing anything, along with proof of insurance. Registration doesn't test skill the way a license does, so it's still worth asking how long the contractor has been doing AC installs and checking their reviews.