AC Installation in Gonzales, LA
A new air conditioner in Gonzales will run from April through October every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Ascension Parish will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
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Seven months of Gonzales heat, and the storms in between
Your air conditioner runs April through October here, seven months a year. Summer afternoons average 91°F, so that stretch is not a mild one. A new system has to hold up to that kind of run every year it is in your home.
Ascension Parish has also seen 30 damaging wind events and 14 hail events over the last ten years, some hail as large as 2 inches. The outdoor unit sits outside through all of it, so where it goes and how it is installed matters. Any new central air conditioner installed today has to meet 14.3 SEER2, the federal efficiency minimum, so that part is already decided for you.
- 7 months
- April through October, your air conditioner is on duty
- 91°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 14 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 $20 a year.
Estimates for a typical Ascension 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 contractors before it licenses them, and it keeps a record of who holds that license. The license belongs to the contractor, not to any one job, so it covers this installation the same as any other job that contractor takes on.
For an air conditioner installation, that license is what stands behind the person doing the work. In most cities and counties in Louisiana, the job also needs a permit from the local building office, and an inspector looks at the work once it is done. That inspection is separate from the license. It is the local office signing off on the installation itself, not the board's doing.
Source: Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- The right size comes from a load calculation, not the square footage of your house alone. A contractor looks at your insulation, your windows, how many stories you have, and which way your house faces before landing on a number. An oversized unit cools the air fast but shuts off before it pulls the humidity down, so the house feels clammy even at the temperature you set. Summer afternoons here average 91°F for seven months, April through October, so a system that is sized wrong runs hard for most of the year. A contractor will size it to your house.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- If your indoor coil and outdoor unit were installed together and matched to each other, replacing only the outdoor unit can throw that match off. A mismatched coil makes the new unit work harder and can cut short the life you'd expect from it. Age matters too. If the indoor coil is old, it may fail soon after and you would be paying for two jobs instead of one. A contractor can check whether your coil is still a fit for a new outdoor unit before you decide.
- Do HVAC contractors in Gonzales 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. That license belongs to the contractor, not to a single job, so it should already be in place before anyone starts work on your air conditioner. Installing a new air conditioner also typically needs a permit from the local building office and an inspection once the work is done.