AC Installation in Havre, MT
A new air conditioner in Havre will run from July through August every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Hill County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Two months of real heat is still enough to size for
Havre only needs cooling from July through August, but summer afternoons average 80°F during that stretch. A new system has to be sized to handle that heat, not to coast through a mild season.
Hail and wind are part of the picture too. The area has seen 26 hail events and 98 damaging wind events over the past ten years, so an outdoor condenser needs to hold up outside, not just cool the air inside. Any new central air conditioner installed today also has to meet the federal efficiency minimum of 13.4 SEER2.
- 2 months
- July through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 80°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 26 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 $20 a year.
Estimates for a typical Hill County home, from EIA household energy data, Montana fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Montana requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license belongs to the contractor, not to this one job. It means the state tested that contractor and keeps a record of who they are. Montana also sets a size line for this rule. Work under $2,500 does not need a licensed contractor at all.
Whatever this installation costs, the state license is what stands behind the person doing the work once the job is priced above that line. Beyond the state, the local building office is the other check here. In most cities and counties, installing an air conditioner needs a permit and an inspection once the work is finished, and that inspection is what confirms the unit was put in correctly.
Source: Montana Legislature
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- The right size depends on your square footage, your insulation, how many windows you have and which way they face, not on a rule of thumb. A contractor works this out with a load calculation, a room by room count of what adds heat to your house. Too big and the unit cools the air fast but shuts off before it pulls the moisture out, so the house feels damp. Too small and it runs the whole afternoon without catching up. Summer highs here average around 80°F, and cooling season only runs July and August, so an oversized unit is the more common mistake in Havre.
- 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 is a mistake. The outdoor unit and the indoor coil are matched to work together, and pairing a new one with an old coil means you lose the efficiency gain and put strain on both. A contractor can tell you the age and condition of what you have and whether the coil matches the new unit. If the indoor side is still young and in good shape, replacing just the outdoor unit can make sense.
- Do HVAC contractors in Havre need a state license to work on my home?
- Yes. Montana requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license, issued through the Department of Labor and Industry. The license belongs to the contractor, not to any one job, so it is worth asking to see it before work starts. Most cities and counties also require a permit and inspection when an air conditioner is installed, which the contractor should handle as part of the job.