AC Installation in Medford, OR
A new air conditioner in Medford will run from July through August every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Jackson County will get in touch.
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Medford only needs cooling two months a year
Your air conditioner in Medford really only has to work July and August, with afternoons averaging 80°F. That is a short season, but it still has to be sized right for those two months so it keeps up on the hottest days rather than running long and short.
A new central air conditioner installed here has to meet the federal minimum of 13.4 SEER2. Jackson County has also seen its share of hail and wind, nine hail events and 69 damaging wind events over the past ten years, so the outdoor unit's location and how it is mounted matter as much as the equipment itself.
- 2 months
- July through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 80°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 9 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 Jackson County compared with a new unit at the federal minimum.
Estimates for a typical Jackson 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 licenses HVAC contractors through the Construction Contractors Board. That license covers the contractor, not each job, so the state has tested the business you hire and keeps a record of who they are. Work under $1,000 does not need a licensed contractor, but installing a new air conditioner runs well past that line.
Most cities and counties require a permit for this kind of installation, along with an inspection once the work is done. That permit and inspection are separate from the license. The license tells you the contractor was tested and is on record with the state. The inspection is what checks the refrigerant lines, the wiring and the setup of the unit itself against code, and it is done by the local building office, not the Construction Contractors Board.
Source: Oregon Legislative Assembly
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- There's no single number that works for every house. A contractor works this out from your square footage, your insulation, how many windows you have and which way they face, and your ceiling height. Putting in a unit that's too big cools the house fast but shuts off before it pulls the humidity out, so the air feels damp. Too small and it runs constantly on the hot afternoons and still can't keep up. This is worth getting right, so have a contractor do a load calculation for your house rather than going by the size of the old unit or a rule of thumb.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- If your indoor and outdoor units are more than a few years apart in age, replacing just the outdoor unit can cause problems. The two are matched to work together, and pairing a new outdoor unit with an old indoor coil often means it won't run at the efficiency it's rated for, and in some cases the manufacturer won't warranty the mismatch at all. A contractor can look at both parts and tell you whether the coil and the rest of the system can handle a new outdoor unit, or whether you're better off replacing them together.
- Do HVAC contractors in Medford 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 is held by the contractor, not tied to any one job, so it's worth checking that whoever you hire holds one before they start. An AC installation will also need a permit from the local building office and an inspection once the work is done, which is separate from the contractor's license.