AC Installation in Grants Pass, OR
A new air conditioner in Grants Pass will run from July through August every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Josephine County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Grants Pass doesn't ask much of an air conditioner
July and August are the only months a new system here really has to work, and summer afternoons average 79°F. That's a short, mild season compared to a lot of the country, and it means an air conditioner sized right for your house isn't fighting extreme heat for months on end.
Wind is the bigger risk to whatever unit sits outside. Josephine County has logged 53 damaging wind events over the past ten years, against a single hail event in that same span. Any new install should be set and secured with that in mind. On the efficiency side, a new central air conditioner has to meet a federal minimum of 13.4 SEER2.
- 2 months
- July through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 79°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 1 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 Josephine County home, from EIA household energy data, Oregon fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Oregon requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Construction Contractors Board licenses the contractor, not the specific job. That means the state tested the business doing the work and keeps it on record. Work under $1,000 does not need a licensed contractor, but an air conditioner installation runs well past that, so this job needs one under Oregon's rule.
The license covers the contractor. It does not cover the installation itself once the work is underway. In most cities and counties, an air conditioner installation needs a permit from the local building office and an inspection when the work is done. That inspection is a separate check, done locally rather than by the state board, on the work at the address where it happens.
Source: Oregon Legislative Assembly
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- The right size depends on your home's square footage, how much insulation it has, how many windows it gets sun through, and the layout of your ductwork. A unit that's too big cools the room fast then shuts off before it pulls the moisture out of the air, so you end up cold and damp. Too small and it runs constantly without ever catching up on a hot afternoon. A contractor will run a load calculation on your actual house to get this right, since guessing by square footage alone gets it wrong often enough to matter.
- 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 just the outdoor unit can cause problems. The two parts are matched at the factory to work together, and pairing an old coil with a new condenser can hurt performance and shorten the life of the new equipment. A contractor looking at both parts of your system can tell you whether they're still a good match or whether it's time to replace them together.
- Do HVAC contractors in Grants Pass need a state license to work on my home?
- Yes. Oregon requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license, issued through the Construction Contractors Board. That license covers the contractor as a business, not each individual job. An air conditioner installation will also need a permit from the local building office and an inspection once the work is finished.