HVAC Installation in Columbus, MS
A new system here will heat from November through March and cool from May through September every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Lowndes County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Ten months of the year, your system is working
Lowndes County only gives your equipment two easy months. Heat runs November through March, when nights average 35°F. Cooling runs May through September, with afternoons averaging 91°F. That's ten months where the system is doing something, and only a short stretch in spring and fall where it can rest.
Most homes here heat with electricity, so a new system needs to handle both jobs well, not just the summer load. Storms are part of the picture too. Lowndes County has seen 110 damaging wind events and 6 winter storms over the past ten years, and in Mississippi, 30% of households went at least 24 hours without power in 2024. A new install is worth planning around that, not just around the weather on a calm day.
- 5 months
- November through March, your system heats
- 5 months
- May through September, it cools
- 35°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 91°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Mississippi requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
Mississippi licenses HVAC contractors through the State Board of Contractors. That license belongs to the contractor, not to this particular job.
For an installation like this one, the license is what stands behind the person doing the work. In most cities and counties in Mississippi, the permit and inspection are what stand behind the job itself. A furnace, air conditioner or heat pump replacement needs a permit from the local building office, and an inspection once the work is done.
Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors
- When should I replace my HVAC system?
- Look at the age and the repair history before anything else. An older furnace or air conditioner that needs repairs more than once a year is usually costing you more to keep than to replace. Homes here run the furnace from November through March and the air conditioner from May through September, so both sides of the system see real work most of the year. If a repair bill comes in high on an aging unit, that is the moment to ask a contractor for a replacement quote instead of another repair.
- Should I replace my furnace and air conditioner at the same time?
- If both are old, yes. A furnace and air conditioner installed together are matched to work as one system, and pairing new equipment with an old, failing unit often means that older unit breaks down soon after anyway. Replacing them together also means one visit from the contractor and one inspection instead of two. If one unit is much newer than the other, replacing only the failed one is reasonable, but ask the contractor whether the surviving unit will still match up correctly.
- What happens during an HVAC installation?
- A contractor removes the old furnace, air conditioner or both, and sets the new equipment in place, connecting it to the ducts, the refrigerant lines, the gas or electric supply, and the vent or flue. They check the ductwork for leaks or sizing problems before closing everything up, since a new system moving air through the wrong size ducts will not perform the way it should. Once it is running, they test it, checking airflow, refrigerant charge, and that the thermostat is controlling it correctly. Mississippi requires the contractor doing this work to hold a state license, and most cities and counties also require a permit and an inspection once the job is done.