AC Installation in Baton Rouge, LA
A new air conditioner in Baton Rouge will run from April through October every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers East Baton Rouge Parish will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Baton Rouge asks a new AC to run most of the year
Your air conditioner works from April through October here, seven months of the year. Summer afternoons average 91°F, so the unit you install is not just for a few hot weeks. It is running most of the year to keep the house at a livable temperature.
A new central air conditioner installed here has to meet a federal efficiency minimum of 14.3 SEER2. With a season this long, the efficiency of the unit you choose matters for as long as it runs, which in this parish is most months on the calendar.
- 7 months
- April through October, your air conditioner is on duty
- 91°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 27 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 East Baton Rouge Parish compared with a new unit at the federal minimum.
Estimates for a typical East Baton Rouge Parish home, from EIA household energy data, Louisiana fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Louisiana requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors tests and records the contractor, not the job. That license stays with the business, so it carries over from one installation to the next rather than getting issued fresh each time.
For this job, that license is what stands behind the person doing the work. On top of it, most cities and counties in Louisiana require a permit from the local building office for an air conditioner installation, with an inspection once the work is done. That inspection is where the installation itself gets checked, separate from what the state license already tells you about the contractor.
Source: Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors
- 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 heat your house gains, which comes from your insulation, your windows, your attic, and which way your walls face. A unit that's too big cools the air fast but shuts off before it pulls the moisture out, so the house feels damp. One that's too small runs constantly and still can't keep up when it's 91 degrees outside. The contractor will do a load calculation on your actual house before recommending a size.
- 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. They're matched to work at a specific efficiency and capacity, and pairing a new outdoor unit with an old coil usually means you lose the efficiency you're paying for, sometimes voids the warranty too. If your indoor coil is old, putting a new condenser next to it is asking for a mismatch. A contractor can look at the age and condition of both pieces and tell you whether the coil is worth keeping.
- Do HVAC contractors in Baton Rouge need a state license to work on my home?
- Yes. Louisiana requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license, issued through the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors. The license belongs to the contractor, not to any one job, so it should already be in place before anyone touches your system. Installing an air conditioner also typically needs a permit from the local building office and an inspection once the work is finished.