AC Installation in Hillsboro, OR
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Hillsboro summers don't ask much of an air conditioner
Summer afternoons here average 76°F. That's mild, and a new system will spend most of its time barely working rather than straining to keep up.
A new central air conditioner still has to meet the federal efficiency minimum of 13.4 SEER2, whether the summers are mild or not. With heat this light, getting the size right for your house matters more than the unit's rated output.
- 76°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 2 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 $10 a year.
Estimates for a typical Washington 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.
Oregon's Construction Contractors Board licenses the contractor, not the job itself. That license covers the business and follows it from one house to the next. Work under $1,000 falls outside the licensing requirement, but installing an air conditioner runs well past that threshold, so the contractor doing this job needs to hold the license.
The license tells you who is doing the work and that the state has them on record. It does not cover the permit that most cities and counties require for this kind of job, or the inspection that usually follows once the work is done. In most places that permit comes from the local building office, and the inspection is what checks the installation itself, including how the unit is connected and set up.
Source: Oregon Legislative Assembly
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- The right size depends on your square footage, your insulation, how many windows you have and which way they face, and your ceiling height. A unit that's too big cools the air fast but shuts off before it pulls the humidity out, so the house feels clammy. A unit that's too small runs constantly and never quite catches up on the hottest afternoons. A contractor works this out with a load calculation on your actual house, not a chart based on square footage alone.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- If your indoor coil and outdoor unit are the same age, replace them together. They're matched to work at a certain capacity and efficiency, and pairing a new outdoor unit with an old indoor coil usually means you lose the efficiency gain you're paying for. It can also void the warranty. If the indoor coil is newer or was already replaced, a contractor can tell you whether it's compatible with a new outdoor unit. Either way, a permit and inspection apply here once the work is done.
- Do HVAC contractors in Hillsboro 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. The license covers the contractor as a business, not each individual job. There's an exemption for small jobs, but installing an air conditioner does not fall under it, and the work will also need a permit from the local building office with an inspection once it's done.