AC Installation in Jerome, ID
A new air conditioner in Jerome will run from July through August every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Jerome County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Two months of real heat, then a long break
Jerome gets its cooling season in July and August, with afternoons averaging around 85°F. A new air conditioner here does not run the long, grinding stretch that homes in hotter climates ask for, but it still needs to be sized right for those two months, not just able to run.
Storms are part of the picture too. The area has seen hail and damaging wind over the past ten years, so an outdoor unit needs to hold up outside, not just cool the air. Any new central air conditioner installed today has to meet the federal efficiency minimum of 13.4 SEER2.
- 2 months
- July through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 85°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 2 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 Jerome County home, from EIA household energy data, Idaho fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Idaho requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
Idaho tested this contractor before handing out the license, and the license belongs to them, not to any single job. The HVAC Board keeps that record at the contractor level, so the same license covers your install and whatever job they take on next.
For your air conditioner, that license is what backs the work. In most cities and counties it is not the only check on it, either. Installing a new air conditioner usually needs a permit from the local building office, and an inspection once the work is done, so someone apart from the contractor looks at what went in.
Sources: Idaho Legislature · Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- The right size comes from a load calculation, not a rule of thumb based on square footage. A contractor looks at your insulation, your windows, your ceiling height, and how much shade your house gets before landing on a number. Get this wrong and you end up with a unit that either can't keep up on the hottest afternoons or short cycles and never runs long enough to pull moisture out of the air. With only two months of real cooling need here, July and August, there's no reason to guess big and hope.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- If your indoor coil and outdoor unit are different ages or different efficiency levels, replacing just the outdoor unit usually isn't a good match. Air conditioners are matched systems. The compressor outside and the coil inside are designed to work together, and pairing an old coil with a new condenser can mean the system never hits its rated efficiency and may wear out sooner. A contractor can check what you have and tell you whether the coil is worth keeping.
- Do HVAC contractors in Jerome need a state license to work on my home?
- Yes. Idaho requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license, issued by the state's HVAC Board, and that covers installing an air conditioner. You'll also need a permit from the local building office for the install, with an inspection once the work is done. Ask to see the license before work starts, and confirm the permit gets pulled.