AC Installation in Slidell, LA
A new air conditioner in Slidell will run from April through October every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers St. Tammany Parish will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
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Seven months of Slidell heat is hard on a new AC
Your air conditioner runs from April through October here, seven months a year, with summer afternoons averaging 91°F. That is most of the year spent cycling on, and the compressor and coil take the wear for all of it.
New central air conditioners have to meet a federal minimum of 14.3 SEER2 now. Whatever gets installed should be sized right for this kind of season, not just meet that number on paper. Slidell has also seen 88 damaging wind events and 24 hail events over the past ten years, so the outdoor unit needs to be able to take a season like that too.
- 7 months
- April through October, your air conditioner is on duty
- 91°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 24 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 St. Tammany Parish compared with a new unit at the federal minimum.
Estimates for a typical St. Tammany 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 issues that license, and it covers the contractor, not each job. The same license that lets a contractor take on your air conditioner install is the one that lets them take on the next one down the street.
For this job in St. Tammany Parish, that license is what stands behind the person doing the work. It is not the only check on the install. Most cities and counties, including this one, require a permit from the local building office for replacing an air conditioner, along with an inspection once the work is done, separate from anything the state license covers.
Source: Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- It depends on your square footage, your ceiling height, how much shade and sun your walls and windows get, and how well your home is insulated. Two houses the same size can need different tonnage. A contractor sizes the unit with a load calculation, not a chart based on square footage alone. With summer afternoons here running near 91°F for seven months of the year, getting this right matters more than in a milder climate. A system that is too big for the house cools fast but leaves the air damp. Too small, and it runs constantly and still cannot keep up on the hottest days.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- In most cases you want to replace both the outdoor unit and the indoor coil together. The two are matched to work at a certain efficiency and capacity, and pairing a new outdoor unit with an old indoor coil usually means you lose the efficiency gain you paid for. It can also void the manufacturer's warranty on the new equipment. A contractor can look at the age and condition of your indoor coil and tell you whether it can be reused or whether the whole system needs to go in together.
- Do HVAC contractors in Slidell need a state license to work on my home?
- Yes. Louisiana requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license, issued by the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors. The license is held by the contractor, not issued job by job. Installing an air conditioner also typically needs a permit from the local building office, with an inspection once the work is finished. Ask to see the contractor's license number before the work starts.