AC Installation in Hurricane, WV
A new air conditioner in Hurricane will run from June through September every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Putnam County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Four months of real work, every summer
Your air conditioner runs June through September here, with summer afternoons averaging 85°F. That is the stretch it has to keep up with, and it needs to be sized and installed right to handle the hottest days, not just the mild ones.
The outdoor unit also has to sit through whatever the sky does the rest of the year. Putnam County has seen 35 hail events and 142 damaging wind events over the past ten years, with hailstones as large as 3.25 inches. Any new central air conditioner installed today has to meet the federal efficiency minimum of 13.4 SEER2.
- 4 months
- June through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 85°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 35 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 Putnam County compared with a new unit at the federal minimum.
Estimates for a typical Putnam 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 is issued to the contractor by the Commissioner of Labor, not to each job that contractor does. The state tested them and keeps a record of who they are before they're allowed to take on work like this.
For an air conditioner installation in Putnam County, that license is what stands behind the person doing the work. It doesn't cover the paperwork on this particular job, though. Most cities and counties require a permit from the local building office for a new air conditioner installation, along with an inspection once the work is finished, so the installation itself gets checked separately from the contractor's standing with the state.
Source: West Virginia Legislature
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- The right size comes from a load calculation, not a rule of thumb based on square footage alone. A contractor looks at your insulation, your windows, how many stories you have, and how much shade the house gets before landing on a number. Too big and it cools the air fast but never runs long enough to pull the humidity out. Too small and it runs constantly through those hot summer afternoons and still can't keep up. Since summers here mean months of 85°F afternoons, getting this number right matters more than in places with a shorter cooling season.
- 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. The two are matched to work together, and pairing a new condenser with an old coil usually means it never runs at the efficiency it's rated for, and can shorten its life. There are exceptions if your indoor coil is young and in good shape. A contractor can tell you after looking at both parts and checking whether they're still a matched set.
- Do HVAC contractors in Hurricane 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 the individual job, so it's worth confirming the person you hire is the one actually holding it. Beyond the state license, installing an air conditioner in most cities and counties also needs a permit from the local building office, plus an inspection once the work is done.