AC Installation in Faribault, MN
A new air conditioner in Faribault will run from June through August every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Rice County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Three months of real heat, and hail in between
Faribault only asks a new air conditioner to work June through August, with afternoons averaging 80°F. That is a short season, but the unit outside still has to sit through everything else the year brings. Rice County has logged 41 hail events over the last ten years, one with a hailstone 3.5 inches across, plus 36 damaging wind events. A condenser's coil and fins sit right out in that.
Any new central air system installed here has to meet a federal minimum of 13.4 SEER2. That is the floor, not a feature, and it applies whether you are replacing a unit or putting one in for the first time.
- 3 months
- June through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 80°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 41 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 Rice County home, from EIA household energy data, Minnesota fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Minnesota has no state license for HVAC contractors.
Minnesota does not put HVAC contractors through a state licensing exam, and it does not register them either. There is no state list of who is qualified and no state record standing between you and whoever you hire.
That does not mean this job goes unchecked. In most cities and counties, installing an air conditioner needs a permit from the local building office, and an inspection once the work is done. That inspection is where someone outside the contractor looks at the finished job. Whether that happens here depends on the rules where you live, since Minnesota leaves it to the local office rather than setting one rule for the whole state.
Source: Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- There's no single number that fits every house. It depends on your square footage, how much shade your house gets, how well it's insulated, and how many windows face the sun. A unit that's too big will cool the house fast but shut off before it pulls the humidity down, so the air feels damp even at the right temperature. A contractor will run a load calculation on your specific house to get the right size, and that's worth doing rather than just matching whatever size is already out there.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- If your indoor coil and outdoor unit are matched to run together, and the indoor side is still in good shape, replacing just the outdoor unit can work. An old coil paired with a new outdoor unit often doesn't perform the way it should. Some new units also aren't compatible with old refrigerant lines or coils at all. A contractor can look at the age and condition of both pieces and tell you whether they'll work well together or whether replacing just one will cost you efficiency down the road.
- Do HVAC contractors in Faribault need a state license to work on my home?
- No. Minnesota has no state license or registration for HVAC contractors doing home work. That doesn't mean there's no oversight on the job itself. Installing an air conditioner in most cities and counties needs a permit from the local building office, and the work gets inspected once it's done. That inspection is what confirms the installation was done right, since there's no state license standing behind it.