AC Installation in Portland, OR
A new air conditioner in Portland will run from August through August every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Multnomah County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Portland doesn't ask much of an air conditioner
Summer afternoons here average 76°F. That is mild work for a cooling system, nothing like the triple digit runs some parts of the country see every day. A new unit sized right for your house will rarely have to work hard to keep up.
Any central air conditioner installed new here has to meet 13.4 SEER2, the federal minimum since 2023. That is the floor, not a special feature, so the real choice is whether you want a unit that only meets it or one that goes beyond it.
- 1 months
- August through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 76°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 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 Multnomah 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, which tests the contractor and keeps a record on file. That license belongs to the business, not to any single job, so it covers this contractor's work in general rather than being issued fresh for your installation. Work under $1,000 falls outside the licensing requirement, but a new air conditioner runs well past that figure, so whoever does this job needs to hold that CCB license.
In most cities and counties, an installation like this also needs a permit from the local building office, with an inspection once the work is done. That inspection is what checks the installation itself, the wiring, the refrigerant lines, the way the unit is set, separate from whatever the license already tells you about the contractor.
Source: Oregon Legislative Assembly
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- The right size depends on your home's square footage, how much sun it gets, how well it's insulated, and layout details a contractor has to look at in person. An undersized unit will run constantly and never quite cool the house. An oversized one cools the air too fast without pulling humidity out, so the house feels clammy even at the temperature you set. Summers in Portland only average 76°F, so an oversized system is a bigger risk here than somewhere hotter, since it has even less hard weather to work against. A contractor will run a load calculation on your actual house before recommending a size.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- If your indoor coil and furnace or air handler are old, replacing just the outdoor unit usually isn't a good idea. The outdoor unit and indoor coil are matched to work together, and pairing a new one with an old one can mean the system never reaches the efficiency it's rated for. It can also void the warranty on the new equipment. A contractor can check the age and condition of what's inside before telling you whether the indoor side needs to go too.
- Do HVAC contractors in Portland 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. Installing an air conditioner needs a licensed contractor, and this kind of work also needs a permit from your local building office, with an inspection once it's done. A contractor will price the job for your specific house.