AC Installation in Long Branch, NJ
A new air conditioner in Long Branch will run from June through September every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Monmouth County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Four months of real heat, every year
Long Branch summers average 84°F in the afternoon, and that runs from June through September. That is four months where a new air conditioner has to hold up to daily use, not just the occasional hot week.
The area also sees its share of hail and wind, 32 hail events and 253 damaging wind events over the last ten years, with hailstones up to 1.75 inches. Outdoor equipment sits exposed to that, so where the unit goes and how it is protected matters. Any new central air conditioner installed today also has to meet the federal minimum of 13.4 SEER2.
- 4 months
- June through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 84°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 32 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 $40 a year to run in Monmouth County compared with a new unit at the federal minimum.
Estimates for a typical Monmouth 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.
That license is held by the contractor, not issued job by job, and it sits on file with the State Board of Examiners of HVACR Contractors, which tested the contractor before granting it. No town in New Jersey can add its own license on top of that, so a contractor in Monmouth County is held to the same state standard as one anywhere else in the state.
For this job, that license is what stands behind the contractor doing the work. In most cities and counties, the installation 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?
- The right size depends on your square footage, your ceiling height, how much shade and sun your walls and windows get, and how well the house holds air. A contractor works this out with a load calculation, not a chart based on home size alone. Putting in a unit that's 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 all summer trying to keep up, especially with afternoons here hitting 84°F. Have a contractor measure your house rather than go by what your neighbor has.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- If your indoor coil and outdoor unit weren't installed together, replacing just the outdoor unit can cause problems. The two are matched for a specific refrigerant charge and airflow, and pairing a new condenser with an old coil often means the system never runs at the efficiency it's rated for. New central air conditioners have to meet a 13.4 SEER2 minimum now, and that rating assumes the whole matched system, not one part of it. A contractor can look at the age and condition of your indoor coil and tell you whether it's worth keeping or whether replacing both makes more sense.
- Do HVAC contractors in Long Branch 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 Heating, Ventilating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors. That license covers the contractor, not each individual job, and no city or town in New Jersey can add its own separate licensing requirement on top of it. For an AC installation you'll also need a permit from the local building office, with an inspection once the work is done.