AC Installation in Columbus, IN
A new air conditioner in Columbus will run from June through September every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Bartholomew County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
What summers in Bartholomew County ask of a new system
Your air conditioner only has to work four months a year here, June through September, with summer afternoons averaging 84°F.
The outdoor unit sits outside through more than just the heat. Bartholomew County has seen six hail events and 40 damaging wind events over the past ten years, with hail up to 1.25 inches. Any new central air conditioner installed today has to meet the federal minimum of 13.4 SEER2, so that baseline is covered no matter which unit goes in.
- 4 months
- June through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 84°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 6 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 Bartholomew County compared with a new unit at the federal minimum.
Estimates for a typical Bartholomew County home, from EIA household energy data, Indiana fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
In Indiana, HVAC licensing for homes is left to the counties and cities.
Indiana has no state HVAC license, so whether this install falls under any local rule depends on Bartholomew County and whatever city the house is in. There is no state license behind the contractor and no state record of who they are. Any protection here comes from the county or city, not from the state.
For an air conditioner install, that protection is most likely a permit from the local building office, with an inspection once the work is done. The permit puts the job on record before it starts, and the inspection is what checks the work after, including the connections made during the install.
Sources: Indiana Department of Workforce Development · State of Indiana
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- The right size comes from a load calculation, not a chart based on square footage. A contractor measures your square footage, but also your insulation, window count and placement, ceiling height, and how much shade your house gets, then runs those numbers to find the load in BTUs. An oversized unit cools the air fast but shuts off before it pulls the humidity out, so the house feels clammy. An undersized one runs constantly and still can't keep up on the hottest afternoons. With summer highs here averaging 84°F, getting the size right matters more than picking the biggest unit you can afford.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- If your indoor coil and outdoor unit are matched and your furnace or air handler is still in good shape, replacing just the outdoor unit can work. The catch is that the indoor coil and outdoor unit have to match for the system to run at its rated efficiency, so a contractor will check the age and condition of both before recommending one over the other. If your system is old enough that the indoor coil uses an outdated refrigerant, or if the furnace is near the end of its life too, replacing both at once often makes more sense than replacing one piece now and the rest later. A contractor can look at what you have and tell you which situation you're in.
- Do HVAC contractors in Columbus need a state license to work on my home?
- Indiana doesn't license HVAC contractors at the state level. It leaves that decision to counties and cities, so whether a license is required where you live depends on local rules rather than a statewide one. Ask any contractor you're considering whether they're licensed to work in your county, and check with Bartholomew County directly if you want to confirm the requirement yourself.