AC Installation in Clermont, FL
A new air conditioner in Clermont will run from March through November every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Lake County will get in touch.
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Nine months of cooling in Clermont
Your air conditioner runs from March through November here, and on the hot afternoons it has to work against a summer average of 91°F. That is nine months of the compressor cycling on and off, most of the year, not just a few weeks of peak summer.
A new unit installed today has to meet a federal minimum of 14.3 SEER2, so whatever goes in will run more efficiently than what it replaces. Given how long the cooling season runs here, that efficiency matters for most of the year, not just a few weeks of it.
- 9 months
- March through November, your air conditioner is on duty
- 91°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 23 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 Lake County compared with a new unit at the federal minimum.
Estimates for a typical Lake County home, from EIA household energy data, Florida fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Florida requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The state tested this contractor before handing out that license, and the Construction Industry Licensing Board keeps a record of it. That record follows the business, not the job, so the same license covers the contractor no matter whose air conditioner they are working on next.
For an installation, that license is what stands behind the work itself. In most cities and counties, putting in a new air conditioner also needs a permit from the local building office, with an inspection once the work is done.
Sources: Florida Legislature · Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- The right size comes from a load calculation, not the size of your old unit or a rule of thumb based on square footage. A contractor measures your windows, insulation, ceiling height, and how much sun your walls take on, since a house that sits in full afternoon sun needs a different answer than one shaded most of the day. With summer highs here averaging 91°F, an undersized unit will run constantly and still struggle to keep up, and an oversized one cools the air fast without pulling out the humidity. Ask for a Manual J calculation rather than an estimate off the top of someone's head.
- 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 outdoor unit and the coil are 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 paid for, sometimes voids the warranty. If your coil is only a few years old and still in good shape, a contractor can check whether it will actually match the new unit before you decide. Cooling is needed here nine months of the year, March through November, so getting the match right matters more than it would somewhere with a short cooling season.
- Do HVAC contractors in Clermont need a state license to work on my home?
- Yes. Florida requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license, issued by the Construction Industry Licensing Board. Ask to see the license number before work starts, and you can look it up through the board to confirm it is active and matches the name on the estimate.