AC Installation in Saginaw, MI
A new air conditioner in Saginaw will run from June through August every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Saginaw County will get in touch.
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Three months of real heat, and storms in between
Saginaw County asks three months of real work from an air conditioner, June through August, with afternoons averaging 81°F. That's a shorter season than a lot of the country sees, but the unit still has to be sized and installed right to keep up on the hottest days.
The county has logged 79 damaging wind events and 17 hail events over the past ten years, so the outdoor unit needs to sit somewhere it's protected and be installed the way the manufacturer specifies. Any new central air conditioner installed today also has to meet the federal minimum of 13.4 SEER2.
- 3 months
- June through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 81°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 17 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 $30 a year to run in Saginaw County compared with a new unit at the federal minimum.
Estimates for a typical Saginaw County home, from EIA household energy data, Michigan fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Michigan requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
Michigan licenses HVAC contractors through the Board of Mechanical Rules. That license belongs to the contractor as a business, not to any one job. It does not expire when your install is done or get reissued for the next one.
For an air conditioner install, the license is what stands behind the person doing the work. What checks the work itself is separate. In most cities and counties in Michigan, replacing an air conditioner needs a permit from the local building office and an inspection once the work is finished. That inspection covers the install itself, the license covers who was allowed to do it.
Sources: Michigan Legislature · Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- It depends on your square footage, your insulation, how many windows you have, and which way your house faces, so there is no single number that fits every home. A contractor works this out with a load calculation, not a chart based on house size alone. Getting this wrong in either direction causes problems. Too small and it will run constantly without cooling the house on the hotter afternoons. Too large and it will cool the air fast but shut off before it pulls the humidity out, leaving the house feeling damp. Have a contractor measure your house and calculate the load rather than matching the size of the unit you already have.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- If your indoor coil and outdoor unit are different ages or different efficiency ratings, replacing just the outdoor unit can cause problems. The two parts are matched at the factory to work together, and pairing a new condenser with an old coil can mean the system never reaches the efficiency it's rated for. It can also void the manufacturer's warranty on the new unit. A contractor can check whether your existing coil will work with a new outdoor unit, or whether the age and condition of the whole system points to replacing it together.
- Do HVAC contractors in Saginaw need a state license to work on my home?
- Yes. Michigan requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license, issued by the Board of Mechanical Rules. Ask to see the license before work starts, and check that it covers the type of work being done on your system.