AC Installation in Eau Claire, WI
A new air conditioner in Eau Claire will run from June through August every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Eau Claire County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Three months of heat, then it sits idle
Summer here runs June through August, with afternoons averaging 79°F. That is not extreme heat, but a new air conditioner still has to start reliably each spring after sitting unused the rest of the year, and keep up on the warmest afternoons that come through.
Eau Claire County has also seen 23 hail events and 35 damaging wind storms over the past ten years, with hail up to 1.75 inches. The outdoor unit sits outside through all of that, so how it's installed and anchored matters as much as the equipment itself. Any new central air conditioner installed today has to meet the federal efficiency minimum of 13.4 SEER2.
- 3 months
- June through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 79°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 23 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 Eau Claire County home, from EIA household energy data, Wisconsin fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Wisconsin requires contractors to register with the state.
That registration puts the business on file with the state and nothing more. Nobody tested the contractor's work, and the state does not vouch for it the way a license would. Wisconsin also keeps counties and cities from adding their own HVAC license on top of it, so this is the only state record that exists here, no matter where in the county you are.
For this job, the protection that matters is the permit. Installing a new air conditioner in most cities and counties calls for a permit from the local building office, and the work gets inspected once it is done. That inspection is what checks the installation itself, the wiring, the refrigerant lines, the way the unit is set, not the registration.
Sources: Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau · Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- There's no single number that fits every home. It comes down to your square footage, how much shade your house gets, how well it's insulated, and how many windows face the sun. A contractor will do a load calculation, not just measure the house, to size the unit correctly. Too big and it cools fast but leaves the place damp. Too small and it runs all afternoon without keeping up.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- If your indoor coil and outdoor unit aren't the same age, replacing just the outdoor unit can cause problems. The two are matched to work together, and pairing a new condenser with an old coil often means it won't run at the efficiency it's rated for. A contractor can check the age and condition of both and tell you whether a full system swap makes more sense than a partial one.
- Do HVAC contractors in Eau Claire need a state license to work on my home?
- Wisconsin requires HVAC contractors to register with the state through the Department of Safety and Professional Services. Ask to see this before work starts on your home. It's a straightforward way to confirm you're dealing with someone accountable to the state, not just a name in an ad.