AC Installation in Flagstaff, AZ
A new air conditioner in Flagstaff will run from June through August every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Coconino County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Three months of real heat, then it stops
Flagstaff only asks for cooling from June through August, with summer afternoons averaging 88°F. That is a short season compared to most of the country, and it changes what matters in an install. A unit here spends most of the year idle, then has to work through three straight months of afternoon heat without a break.
Hail and wind are part of the picture too. The area has logged 32 hail events and 146 damaging wind events over the past ten years, with hail up to 2.5 inches. The outdoor unit sits outside through all of that, so where it's placed and how it's protected matters as much as the size of it. Any new system installed today also has to meet the federal efficiency minimum of 14.3 SEER2.
- 3 months
- June through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 88°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 32 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 $10 a year.
Estimates for a typical Coconino County home, from EIA household energy data, Arizona fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Arizona requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Registrar of Contractors tests and licenses the business itself, so the license covers the contractor, not this particular job. That's what's on file before the contractor ever shows up at your house.
Once the work starts, the installation itself is what the local building office checks. Replacing an air conditioner typically needs a permit and an inspection when the work is done, and that inspection is what looks at the install in your home, separate from whatever the state has on record about the contractor's license.
Sources: Arizona State Legislature · Arizona Registrar of Contractors
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- The right size depends on your square footage, your ceiling height, how much shade your house gets, and how well it's insulated, not just a rule of thumb. A contractor works this out with a load calculation, not a chart based on home size alone. Going bigger than you need isn't better. An oversized unit cools the air fast but shuts off before it pulls the humidity down, so the house feels clammy even at the right temperature. Have a contractor measure your house and size the unit to it.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- In most cases you're better off replacing both the outdoor unit and the indoor coil together. Air conditioners are matched systems. The compressor outside and the coil inside are built to work at specific pressures together, and pairing a new compressor with an old coil can mean it never runs the way it's rated to, sometimes voiding the warranty on the new part. The exception is when the coil is only a few years old and still in good shape. A contractor can check its condition and tell you whether it's worth keeping.
- Do HVAC contractors in Flagstaff need a state license to work on my home?
- Yes. Arizona requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license, issued by the Registrar of Contractors. Ask to see the license number before work starts, or look it up yourself with the Registrar. A licensed contractor has met the state's requirements for the work and carries the accountability that comes with it.