AC Installation in Burlington, NJ
A new air conditioner in Burlington will run from June through September every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Burlington County will get in touch.
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Four months of real heat in Burlington County
Summer afternoons here average 85°F, and your air conditioner runs from June through September to keep up with that. The outdoor unit sits through more than heat. Burlington County has logged 405 damaging wind events and 57 hail events over the past ten years, with hail as large as 2.5 inches, so whatever gets installed outside has to hold up against that.
Any new central air conditioner installed today has to meet a federal minimum of 13.4 SEER2. That is the baseline, not a special upgrade, so the real choice is how the unit gets sized and installed for your house.
- 4 months
- June through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 85°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 57 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 $50 a year to run in Burlington County compared with a new unit at the federal minimum.
Estimates for a typical Burlington County home, from EIA household energy data, New Jersey fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
New Jersey requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The state board tests contractors before issuing that license, and the license belongs to the contractor rather than to any single job. Cities and towns in New Jersey are not allowed to require their own separate HVAC license, so the state board's license is the one that applies to whoever installs your air conditioner.
Because the contractor is licensed at the state level, that license is what stands behind the work on your air conditioner. In most cities and counties, a job like this also needs a permit from the local building office, with an inspection once the work is done.
Sources: New Jersey Legislature · New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- There is no single size that fits every house. A contractor figures this out with a load calculation that looks at your square footage, insulation, windows and how many walls face the sun. Putting in a unit that is too big cools the room fast but shuts off before it pulls the moisture out of the air, so the house feels damp. Too small and it runs constantly on the 85°F afternoons that show up here every summer and still can't keep up. Ask for the load calculation, not a guess based on your old unit's size.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- That depends on the age and condition of what's inside, and a contractor needs to look at both halves to tell you. The outdoor condenser and the indoor coil are matched to work together, so pairing a new condenser with an old coil can mean the system never reaches the efficiency rating on the new unit's label. It can also stress the old coil into an early failure. If the coil is old or was matched to a different condenser, replacing just the outside is a short term fix at best. A contractor can check what's compatible and price the job either way.
- Do HVAC contractors in Burlington need a state license to work on my home?
- Yes. New Jersey requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license, issued through the State Board of Examiners of HVACR Contractors. Towns and cities in New Jersey aren't allowed to add their own licensing on top of that, so the state license is what to check. For an AC installation you'll also need a permit from the local building office, and the work gets inspected once it's done.