AC Installation in Charles Town, WV
A new air conditioner in Charles Town will run from June through September every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Jefferson County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Four months of real heat in Charles Town
Summer afternoons here average 85°F, and a new air conditioner runs against that heat from June through September. That is the stretch it has to handle every year, season after season.
Jefferson County has also logged 92 damaging wind events and 17 hail storms over the past ten years, with hailstones as large as 2.5 inches. Whatever unit goes in sits outside through that. Any new central air conditioner installed today has to meet a federal minimum of 13.4 SEER2, so the efficiency floor is already set before you choose a model.
- 4 months
- June through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 85°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 17 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 $40 a year to run in Jefferson County compared with a new unit at the federal minimum.
Estimates for a typical Jefferson County home, from EIA household energy data, West Virginia fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
West Virginia requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license comes from the Commissioner of Labor, and the state tested the contractor before handing it over. It covers the business, not the specific job, so the same license that lets a contractor take on your install also covers the next homeowner's furnace or water heater.
For an air conditioner install in Jefferson County, that state license is what stands behind the contractor's name. Most cities and counties also require a permit for this kind of job, with an inspection once the work is done, and that inspection is what confirms the new unit was installed correctly, separate from anything the license already accounts for.
Source: West Virginia Legislature
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- A contractor has to measure your house to answer that, not guess from its square footage. Sizing depends on how much insulation you have, how many windows face the sun, your ceiling height, and how much shade your house gets in the afternoon. A unit that's too big cools the air fast but shuts off before it pulls the moisture out, so the house feels clammy. Too small, and it runs constantly on the hot afternoons here and still can't keep up. A contractor will do a load calculation on your actual house and size the unit to match.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- If your indoor coil and outdoor unit are more than a few years apart in age, replacing just the outdoor unit usually causes problems. The two are matched to work together, and pairing an old coil with a new condenser often means the system never reaches the efficiency it's rated for, and it can void the warranty on the new part. If both are old, replacing them together avoids that mismatch entirely. A contractor can check the age and condition of both and tell you which is worth keeping.
- Do HVAC contractors in Charles Town need a state license to work on my home?
- Yes. West Virginia requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license, issued through the Commissioner of Labor. That license covers the contractor, not each individual job. On top of that, installing a new air conditioner in most cities and counties requires a permit from the local building office, plus an inspection once the work is done.