AC Installation in Pocatello, ID
A new air conditioner in Pocatello will run from July through August every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Bannock County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Two months of real heat
Cooling season in Pocatello runs July through August, two months where afternoons average 81°F. That's a short season, and it's the whole job a new air conditioner here has to do.
Bannock County has also seen 46 damaging wind events and 21 hail events over the last ten years, hail up to 2 inches at its largest. Any new central air conditioner installed today has to meet 13.4 SEER2, the federal efficiency minimum since 2023.
- 2 months
- July through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 81°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 $10 a year.
Estimates for a typical Bannock 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.
The state license comes from the Idaho HVAC Board, and the Board tests and keeps records on the contractor, not on any single job. So a valid license tells you this person met the state's standard to do the work, but it does not follow them room to room checking each install.
For an air conditioner install, that license is what stands behind the person doing the work, but most cities and counties in Idaho also require a permit from the local building office and an inspection once the unit is in. That inspection is what checks the job itself, the wiring, the refrigerant lines, the way the unit was set and connected, separate from whatever the state license already vouched for.
Sources: Idaho Legislature · Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- The right size depends on your square footage, your windows, your insulation and how your house holds heat, so a contractor needs to run a load calculation to get it right. Guessing at size, or just matching the old unit, is how you end up with a system that's too big. An oversized air conditioner cools the house fast but shuts off before it pulls the moisture out of the air, so rooms feel clammy even at the right temperature. A unit that's too small runs constantly and still can't keep up on the hottest afternoons. With summer highs here averaging around 81°F, most homes don't need an oversized system to stay comfortable, which is one more reason to size it on the actual house rather than a rule of thumb.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- In most cases you're better off replacing the outdoor unit and the indoor coil together. The two are matched to work as a set, and putting a new condenser on an old coil often means the system never reaches the efficiency it's rated for. Sometimes it won't run right at all. If your furnace and ductwork are in good shape, those don't need to be part of the job. A contractor can look at what you have and tell you whether the coil, the furnace, or anything else needs to come out with the old condenser.
- Do HVAC contractors in Pocatello 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. That covers installing a new air conditioner. Beyond the contractor's license, the job itself needs a permit from the local building office, and the work gets inspected once it's done. The license means the person doing the work has met the state's requirements. The inspection means someone independent checks that the installation was done right.