Florida Homes: How Expensive Is the Central Air Installation
Central air is not a luxury but a necessity for the residents of Orlando, Florida. People constructing new homes and those who want to upgrade their HVAC systems are interested in the cost details of central air. In this article, we will discuss not only the cost of central air but also various factors on which the cost of this unit depends.
What is central air?
People living in Florida must use central air to combat hot air and high temperatures. If you want to install a new one, it’s important to understand what this system is and how it works. So, if we start with basics, central air is all about heating & cooling the entire building, which can be a home or commercial building. The HVAC system cools the selected building areas, but central air cools the entire place.
How does it work?
- Your indoor unit contains a fan that catches warm air from your house and rushes it into the air ducts.
- This air passes through filters that remove any dust particles or pollutants.
- Then, this air is passed through a cold evaporator coil having liquid refrigerant, which absorbs all the heat, and the air turns cold.
- Once all of this has happened, the blower fan pushes this cooled air into your house.
What’s included in a central air conditioning system?
First, you must know that two types of central cooling & heating systems are available.
- Split System
- Packaged System
We will talk about their costs in a moment. Let’s first see what’s included in both of the systems.
Split System has an outdoor unit that includes a fan, compressor, and condenser coil. While on the other hand, the indoor unit carries the furnace or fan coil, where the fan circulates cool air, and the evaporator coil. In addition, copper tubing is used to transport the refrigerant between outdoor and indoor components of your air conditioning system.
If we talk about the packaged system, all things like the fan coil, compressor, fan, and condenser coil are found in a single package, the outdoor unit. Know that you have enough knowledge about this; let’s move on to our next step.
Factors that Influence the Cost to Install Central Air for Florida Homes
Size of your Home or Building
It is, in fact, the biggest factor that affects your cost because you need to have an AC unit that is powerful enough to cool your home. The more space you have, the more power you need. Here’s a little power calculator for your help,
Width of room*Length of room*25 = Your approximate BTUs
A BTU is a standard unit known as a British Thermal unit; it measures how many units are required to cool a room or space in an hour.
SEER Rating
The seasonal energy efficiency ratio also plays an important role. It is; “The ratio of the total heat removed from the conditioned space during the annual cooling season divided by the total electrical energy consumed by the air conditioner during the same season.” The higher the SEER rating will be, the more it will cost you, but it also has an advantage that it will help you cut down on your electricity cost.
Air Conditioning Speed
The type of air conditioning your also offers greatly differs in cost. Let’s take a moment to get this through; having a single-stage AC may cost you less. But they seem a bit old school and offer you much fewer features than the ones available nowadays. Next to them are Two-stage AC’s; they might help you save a little on your electricity bill as compared to the prior.
On the contrary, we have variable AC’s, which provide power off and on the button and allow you to customize the temperature you want to maintain. They are also very efficient when saving electricity, but as a drawback, they cost a little higher than the other two.
Repairs
You may opt to buy a low-quality AC due to its lower price, but it will cost you way more than buying a higher-quality AC when you need to repair it now and then. So, even if this cost is not directly related to installation, you must consider it.
The AC company you hire
Lastly, the experts you hire to install your AC also influence your cost. You cannot hire anyone asking for low money if they don’t have any experience, and if anyone is overpricing their service just because of their name, that’s also unfair. The key here is fair pricing. Find someone who offers warranties and has experience but takes fair money.
How Much Does It Cost to Install Central Air Conditioning?
And at the end, we are on to the most important question. However, it isn’t easy to give the exact estimate because, as mentioned above, many features influence the cost. Here’s an estimate of what to keep in mind, around $4500 to $6500. But it can fluctuate if you have more or less space than an average house.
Air Conditioning Financing
As costly as it may seem, an AC has become an important component of our homes. Many companies offer financing to make it affordable to most people. So, don’t get demotivated by the cost. If you consider financing, you can enjoy air conditioning without worrying about having a huge sum at the moment but rather pay in manageable small installments.
Many people think that they can drag their old and frequently repaired AC to use for another season too, but this will not only cost them more for bills and repairs, but a new AC works more efficiently and is more reliable than a worn-out one.
If your AC shows the below-mentioned signs, we are just a call away.
- Unit not maintaining the required temperature.
- Electricity bills are rising.
- Frequently need repairs.
- Has been operating for more than 10 seasons.
About Century Air Conditioning & Heating
Century Air Conditioning & Heat was established in 1986. We’re a family owned and operated HVAC contractor in Orlando, FL. For over 36 years, we’ve been a trusted source for air conditioning equipment, heating equipment and related services. Century is an A+ BBB accredited business.
Air Conditioning & Heating Services Offered in Orlando and surrounding Central Florida Areas:
| Orlando Air Conditioner Installation | Orlando Air Conditioner Installation |
| HVAC Air Conditioning Maintenance | Orlando Air Conditioning Service |
