AC Installation in Ruston, LA
A new air conditioner in Ruston will run from May through September every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Lincoln Parish will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Five months of 92 degree afternoons
Ruston asks a lot of an air conditioner. Cooling season runs May through September, and summer afternoons average 92°F, so the system you install has to hold up under long, steady heat rather than a few sharp spikes.
This area also sees hail and wind. Ten years of records show 16 hail events and 51 damaging wind events, with a hailstone as large as 1.75 inches. The outdoor unit sits outside through all of that, so where it goes and how it is protected matters. Any new central air conditioner installed today also has to meet the federal efficiency minimum of 14.3 SEER2.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 92°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 16 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 Lincoln 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 licenses HVAC contractors statewide. That license belongs to the contractor, not to any one job, so it travels with the person or company doing the work rather than being issued fresh for your installation.
In most cities and parishes, an air conditioner installation needs a permit from the local building office, along with an inspection once the work is done. That is where the installation itself gets checked, separate from the contractor's license.
Source: Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- There is no single number that fits every house. It depends on the square footage, the insulation, how many windows you have and which way they face, and the layout of the ductwork. A contractor works this out with a load calculation, not a rule of thumb, and with afternoons here hitting 92°F all summer, sizing it right matters more than guessing high. Too big and it cools the air fast but never runs long enough to pull the humidity out. Too small and it runs constantly and still can't keep up on the hottest days.
- 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 are matched to work as a pair, and putting a new condenser on an old coil usually means it never reaches the efficiency or the cooling it's rated for. If your system is old enough that the outdoor unit is failing, the coil has likely put in the same years of work. A contractor can look at the age and condition of the coil and tell you whether it's worth keeping.
- Do HVAC contractors in Ruston 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 covers the contractor as a business, not the individual job. Installing a new air conditioner also typically needs a permit from the local building office, along with an inspection once the work is finished.