AC Installation in Columbia, MD
A new air conditioner in Columbia will run from June through September every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Howard County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Four months of real heat in Columbia
Summers here average 85°F in the afternoon, and your air conditioner has to hold that line from June through September. Four months a year, that is the job.
Columbia also sees its share of storms. Ten years of records show 177 damaging wind events and 14 hail events, with hail as large as 1.75 inches. An outdoor unit sits outside through all of that, so how it gets installed matters as much as the unit itself. Any new central air conditioner installed today also has to meet the federal efficiency minimum of 14.3 SEER2.
- 4 months
- June through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 85°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 14 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 Howard 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. That means the state tested this contractor and keeps a record of the license. The license covers the contractor, not the job, so it stands behind everything they install, not just this one.
For an air conditioner installation in Howard County, that license is what stands behind the contractor's work. The county still has its own check on top of it. Most cities and counties require a permit from the local building office before a job like this, and an inspection once the new system is in, so the installation gets looked at by the county as well as by the state that licensed the contractor.
Sources: Maryland General Assembly · Maryland Department of Labor
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- There's no single number that fits every house, and getting it wrong either way costs you comfort. A contractor sizes your system with a load calculation, which looks at your square footage, insulation, windows, and layout, not just the size of your old unit. Too big and it cools the air fast but never runs long enough to pull the humidity out. Too small and it runs constantly on the hot afternoons here and still can't keep up. Have a contractor run the calculation for your specific house rather than guessing off square footage alone.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- In most cases you replace both the outdoor unit and the indoor coil together. The two are matched to work as a pair, and pairing a new outdoor unit with an old coil usually means you lose the efficiency you're paying for, sometimes voids the warranty too. If your indoor coil and ductwork are still in good shape and recent, a contractor may tell you they can be reused. But that's a call to make after they've looked at the actual equipment, not before.
- Do HVAC contractors in Columbia 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 HVACR Contractors, and installing an air conditioner falls under that license. On top of that, most cities and counties require a permit for the installation and an inspection once the work is done. Ask to see the contractor's license number before they start, and confirm the permit gets pulled. It protects you if something about the install doesn't hold up later.