AC Installation in Monroe, LA
A new air conditioner in Monroe will run from May through October every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Ouachita Parish will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Six months of Monroe heat, every year
Your air conditioner in Monroe runs May through October, six months a year, against summer afternoons that average 92°F. That is the load it answers to for six months straight.
A new system installed today has to meet the federal minimum of 14.3 SEER2. It also has to survive what is outside. Ouachita Parish saw 86 damaging wind events and 39 hail events over the last ten years, with hail up to 2.5 inches. The outdoor unit sits exposed to that, so how it is installed and anchored matters as much as the equipment itself.
- 6 months
- May through October, your air conditioner is on duty
- 92°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 39 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 Ouachita 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. So the license tells you the person or company doing the work passed the state's exam and is on file with the board, but it does not follow them from house to house checking each installation.
For an air conditioner install, the permit and inspection are what cover the actual job in Ouachita Parish. Most cities and counties there require a permit from the local building office before the work starts and an inspection once it is done, and that inspection is what confirms this particular unit was put in correctly, wiring and all.
Source: Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- The right size comes from a load calculation, not a chart based on square footage alone. A contractor measures your home's insulation, windows, ceiling height, and orientation to figure out how many BTUs it takes to cool it, since two houses the same size can need different sized units. With summer afternoons here averaging 92°F, sizing matters even more. An oversized unit cools the air fast but shuts off before it pulls the humidity out, so the house feels clammy even when the thermostat says it's cool. An undersized one runs constantly and still can't keep up on the hottest days. A contractor can run the calculation and tell you the size your house actually needs.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- If your indoor coil and outdoor unit are different ages or different efficiency ratings, replacing only the outdoor unit can cause problems. The two are matched at the factory to work together, and pairing a new condenser with an old coil can hurt efficiency and shorten the life of the new equipment. New central air conditioners have to meet a federal minimum of 14.3 SEER2, and an old coil often can't perform to that rating even with a new unit attached. 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 Monroe 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 covers the contractor as a business, not each individual job. Separately, 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.