AC Installation in Pasco, WA
A new air conditioner in Pasco will run from July through August every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Franklin County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Two months of real heat is still enough to matter
Pasco only asks a lot of an air conditioner for July and August. Summer afternoons average 85°F, and that's what a new system has to keep up with, not a mild day here and there but a stretch of real heat concentrated into two months.
Any central air conditioner installed new has to meet a federal minimum of 13.4 SEER2. That's the baseline for efficiency, not a feature to choose, so the difference between units comes down to what's built on top of it.
- 2 months
- July through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 85°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 13.4 SEER2
- the federal minimum any new unit must meet
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A higher-efficiency unit would save about $60 a year to run in Franklin County compared with a new unit at the federal minimum.
Estimates for a typical Franklin County home, from EIA household energy data, Washington fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Washington requires contractors to register with the state.
That registration puts the business on file with the state and shows proof of insurance and a bond, but nobody tested the contractor's work before handing it out. It is a record, not a credential.
For an air conditioner install in Franklin County, the protection that matters comes from the local building office. Most cities and counties here require a permit for this job and an inspection once it's done, and that inspection is what checks the work rather than the state registration.
Source: Washington State Legislature
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- The right size comes from a load calculation, not a guess based on square footage. A contractor measures your windows, insulation, ceiling height and layout, then works out how many BTUs your house actually needs to cool. An oversized unit cycles on and off too fast and leaves the place clammy. An undersized one runs constantly and still can't keep up on an 85°F afternoon.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- If your indoor coil and furnace or air handler are old, replacing only the outdoor unit usually isn't the better path. The outdoor unit and indoor coil are matched to work together, and pairing a new one with an old coil can mean it never runs at the efficiency it's rated for. A contractor can check the age and condition of what you have and tell you whether the indoor side is worth keeping.
- Do HVAC contractors in Pasco need a state license to work on my home?
- Washington doesn't run a trade exam or issue a trade license for this work. What the state requires is registration with the Department of Labor and Industries, which is a business record showing the contractor is bonded and insured. You'll also need a permit from the local building office for the install, with an inspection once the work is done.