AC Installation in Tupelo, MS
A new air conditioner in Tupelo will run from May through September every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Lee County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Five months of Tupelo heat, every year
From May through September your air conditioner is the only thing standing between your house and a 90°F afternoon. That is five months of steady running, not just a few hot weeks. A new system has to hold up to that stretch every year it's installed.
Any central air conditioner installed new has to meet a federal minimum of 14.3 SEER2. Lee County also sees its share of hard weather, 94 damaging wind events and 35 hail events over the last ten years, with hail up to 2.5 inches. The outdoor unit sits outside through all of that, so where it goes and how it's protected matters as much as the equipment itself.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 90°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 35 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 Lee County home, from EIA household energy data, Mississippi fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Mississippi requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license comes from the State Board of Contractors, and it belongs to the contractor, not to this particular job. That is different from a business simply being registered somewhere, which only means it is on file with no test behind it.
For an air conditioner installation, that license is what stands behind the person doing the work. In most cities and counties in Mississippi, the job also needs a permit from the local building office, with an inspection once the installation is finished. That inspection is separate from the license. It is the local check that the new unit was put in correctly.
Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- The right size comes from a load calculation, not the square footage of your house alone. A contractor looks at your insulation, your windows, the direction your house faces, and how many people live there before landing on a number. An oversized unit cools the air fast but shuts off before it pulls the moisture out, so the house feels clammy even at the right temperature. An undersized one runs constantly on those 90°F afternoons here and still falls behind. Have a contractor run the calculation for your house rather than going by the old unit's size or a rule of thumb.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- In most cases the outdoor unit and the indoor coil need to be replaced together. They are matched to work at a specific capacity and efficiency, and pairing a new outdoor unit with an old coil usually means losing the efficiency you paid for, sometimes voiding the warranty too. If your system is old enough that the outdoor unit failed, the indoor coil is likely close behind it. A contractor can check the age and condition of what you have and tell you whether the coil is worth keeping.
- Do HVAC contractors in Tupelo need a state license to work on my home?
- Yes. Mississippi requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license through the State Board of Contractors, and that covers installing a central air conditioner. The license belongs to the contractor, not the individual job, so it is worth asking to see it before work starts. You will also likely need a permit from the local building office for the installation, with an inspection once the work is finished.