AC Installation in Annapolis, MD
A new air conditioner in Annapolis will run from June through September every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Anne Arundel County will get in touch.
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Four months of real heat to plan around
Annapolis runs its air conditioner June through September, with summer afternoons averaging 86°F. That is the stretch a new system has to handle every year without a break.
Any central air conditioner installed new has to meet the federal minimum of 14.3 SEER2, so that part is settled before you even pick a brand. What is worth thinking about here is sizing it right for the season it will actually run, and where the unit sits, since Anne Arundel County has logged 248 damaging wind events and 22 hail storms over the past ten years, with hail up to 1.75 inches. An outdoor condenser left exposed to that is worth a second look when it goes in.
- 4 months
- June through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 86°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 22 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 Anne Arundel County home, from EIA household energy data, Maryland fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Maryland requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
Maryland licenses HVAC contractors through the Maryland Board of Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Contractors. The license covers the contractor, not each job, so it is the business that is licensed rather than any single installation.
For an air conditioner installation, the license tells you the contractor is the one the state allows to do this work. Whether this particular installation was done right is checked separately, by the local building office. Most cities and counties in Maryland require a permit before the work starts and an inspection once it's done, and that inspection is what looks at the installation itself, not the contractor's standing.
Sources: Maryland General Assembly · Maryland Department of Labor
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- There is no answer to that without looking at your house. A contractor works out the right size with a load calculation, which weighs your square footage, your insulation, how many windows you have and which way they face, and your ceiling height. An undersized unit will run constantly and never quite cool the house on an 86 degree afternoon. An oversized one cools too fast, shuts off before it pulls the humidity out of the air, and wears out sooner from all the starting and stopping. A contractor can run the calculation for your house and tell you the right size.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- In most cases replacing just the outdoor unit is not a good idea. The outdoor condenser and the indoor coil are matched to work together, and pairing an old coil with a new condenser usually means the system never reaches the efficiency it is rated for. It can also void the manufacturer's warranty on the new unit. A contractor can look at the age and condition of your indoor coil and tell you whether it can be kept or needs to go with the new unit.
- Do HVAC contractors in Annapolis need a state license to work on my home?
- Yes. Maryland requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license, issued through the Maryland Board of Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Contractors. That license belongs to the contractor, not to any single job, so it should already be in place before anyone touches your air conditioner. Installing a new air conditioner also typically needs a permit from your local building office, with an inspection once the work is done.