AC Installation in Shelbyville, KY
A new air conditioner in Shelbyville will run from May through September every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Shelby County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Five months of Shelbyville summer on one system
Your air conditioner works May through September here, five months of afternoons averaging 85°F. That's the stretch it has to get through without a break, and a unit sized wrong for your house will run long hours trying to keep up.
Shelby County has seen 21 hail events and 50 damaging wind events over the past ten years, with hail up to 1.75 inches. Outdoor units sit exposed to that. A new central air conditioner installed today has to meet a federal minimum of 14.3 SEER2, so whatever goes in should already clear that bar.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 85°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 21 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 Shelby County home, from EIA household energy data, Kentucky fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Kentucky requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
Kentucky's Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction issues that license, and it covers the contractor, not the job. That means the state has tested this contractor and keeps a record of them, but no state office signs off on your air conditioner install itself.
That's where the local building office comes in. In most cities and counties here, putting in a new air conditioner needs a permit and an inspection once the work is done, and that inspection is what checks the job in your home, not the license. The license tells you the contractor was tested. The permit and inspection tell you this installation was looked at.
Sources: Kentucky Legislative Research Commission · Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- The right size depends on your square footage, your ceiling height, how much shade your house gets, and how well it's insulated, so there's no number that fits every home. Too big and it cools the air fast but shuts off before it pulls the humidity out, leaving the house cold and damp. Too small and it runs constantly all summer without ever catching up on a 85°F afternoon. A contractor works this out with a load calculation, which looks at your actual house rather than a rule of thumb like square footage alone.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- If your indoor coil and outdoor unit weren't installed together, putting in a new outdoor unit alone often means the system never runs at the efficiency either piece was built for. The manufacturer matches the two to work as a pair, and pairing new with old can cost you the efficiency gain you're paying for. Age matters too. A new outdoor unit paired with an aging indoor coil still carries the risk that the older part fails soon after. A contractor can look at the age and condition of what you have now and tell you whether the indoor coil is worth keeping.
- Do HVAC contractors in Shelbyville need a state license to work on my home?
- Yes. Kentucky requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license, issued by the Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction. Beyond the contractor's license, installing an air conditioner in Shelbyville also needs a permit from the local building office, with an inspection once the work is done. Ask to see the license and confirm the permit is pulled before work starts.