AC Installation in Follansbee, WV
A new air conditioner in Follansbee will run from June through August every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Brooke County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Three months of real heat is what your new AC has to handle
Follansbee gets summer afternoons averaging 82°F, and the cooling season runs June through August. That is three months when a new air conditioner needs to hold up and keep the house comfortable, then sit idle the rest of the year.
Any central air conditioner installed new has to meet a federal minimum of 13.4 SEER2. Brooke County has also logged 38 damaging wind events and 6 hail events over the past ten years, so the outdoor unit is worth setting up with that in mind.
- 3 months
- June through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 82°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
A higher-efficiency unit would save about $30 a year to run in Brooke County compared with a new unit at the federal minimum.
Estimates for a typical Brooke 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 Commissioner of Labor issues that license, and it belongs to the contractor, not to any single job. That means the testing and the record behind it cover the business you hire, not just the unit going in at your place.
For an air conditioner installation, that license is what stands behind the person doing the work. In most cities and counties, the job itself also needs a permit from the local building office and an inspection once it's done. That inspection checks the installation itself, separate from whatever the license already tells you about the contractor.
Source: West Virginia Legislature
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- The right size comes from a load calculation, not the square footage of your house. A contractor will look at your insulation, your windows, your ceiling height, and how much shade your house gets before they land on a number. An oversized unit cools the air fast but shuts off before it pulls the moisture out, so the house feels clammy even at the right temperature. An undersized one runs constantly and still can't keep up on the hottest afternoons. With summer highs here averaging 82°F, most homes don't need an oversized unit to stay comfortable, which is one more reason to let the calculation drive the decision instead of guessing.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- In most cases, if your outdoor unit is failing, the indoor coil should be replaced with it. New units use a different refrigerant and different coil design than older systems, and pairing a new condenser with an old coil usually means lower efficiency and a shorter life for the new equipment. There are exceptions if your indoor coil is already newer, so this is worth a real look before you decide. A contractor can tell you what's compatible once they see both parts of your system.
- Do HVAC contractors in Follansbee 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 as a business, not each individual job. Beyond the state license, installing a new air conditioner in most cities and counties also needs a permit from the local building office, plus an inspection once the work is done.