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A contractor quoting a central AC install in Houston County has to account for what the local climate actually demands of a system, not what a catalog assumes. 248 severe weather events were recorded in Houston County, Alabama between 2015 and 2024. At that rate, severe weather is a standing condition of operation here, which means equipment sized for a milder load will run harder and strain sooner than the spec sheet suggests. Getting the sizing right from the start is the work a local contractor does before any equipment is ordered.
Ductwork laid down for older equipment carries the real question in a central AC installation here. Half the homes in Houston County, Alabama were built in 1985 or earlier (2020-2024 ACS 5-year). A system spec'd for a house today draws differently, moves differently, and expects trunk and branch dimensions that older installs often do not provide. A contractor assessing the job has to get into the ducts before the new unit can be quoted with any confidence, because what the ductwork will and will not pass determines how much of the existing system stays.
What Gets Installed With a New Central AC
The outdoor condenser unit sits on a concrete pad outside the house and holds the compressor and condenser coil, the hardware that does the heaviest work in the system. Inside, the air handler mounts in a utility closet, attic, or basement and contains the evaporator coil and blower that push conditioned air through the home.
The thermostat goes on an interior wall where it reads the home's air and tells the rest of the system when to run. A contractor also installs the refrigerant lines that run between the two units and the condensate drain that carries away moisture the evaporator coil pulls from the air.
The drawing shows a typical layout, and a licensed contractor determines exactly what applies to your house.
Get matched in Houston CountyHouston County, Alabama, by the numbers
248 severe weather events were recorded in Houston County, Alabama between 2015 and 2024.
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, bulk CSV export, events 2015-01-01 through 2024-12-31.Half the homes in Houston County, Alabama were built in 1985 or earlier (2020-2024 ACS 5-year).
U.S. Census Bureau, 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesHouston County, Alabama holds 50,158 housing units (2020-2024 ACS 5-year).
U.S. Census Bureau, 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesOwners occupy 63.8% of the occupied homes in Houston County, Alabama (2020-2024 ACS 5-year).
U.S. Census Bureau, 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesRules & Standards Governing Central AC Installation in Houston County, Alabama9 sourced rules and standards
What happens when a contractor comes out to install your system
Split-system central air conditioners rated below 45,000 Btu/h manufactured on or after January 1, 2023 must meet a federal minimum of 13.4 SEER2.
Split-system central air conditioners rated at or above 45,000 Btu/h manufactured on or after January 1, 2023 must meet a federal minimum of 13.4 SEER2.
Split-system central air conditioners manufactured between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2022 had to meet 13 SEER, the metric that preceded SEER2.
Single-package central air conditioners manufactured on or after January 1, 2023 must meet a federal minimum of 13.4 SEER2.
Space-constrained central air conditioners manufactured on or after January 1, 2023 must meet a federal minimum of 11.7 SEER2.
Federal efficiency standards for split-system central air conditioners and heat pumps are set on each certified combination of outdoor unit and indoor coil rather than on the outdoor unit alone.
Residential and light commercial air conditioning and heat pump systems assembled in the field, including mini-splits and unitary systems, may not be installed on or after January 1, 2025 using a refrigerant with a global warming potential above 700.
A field-assembled system whose specified components were all manufactured or imported before January 1, 2025 carries no installation compliance date under the refrigerant restrictions and may still be installed.
Licensing and Legal Requirements in Houston County, Alabama
Alabama requires state certification to do heating, air conditioning and refrigeration contracting: nobody may advertise, bid, pull permits or do the work unless the person in responsible charge is a certified contractor.
Severe Weather Events in Houston County
Houston County's climate puts real stress on cooling equipment, and that stress shapes what a new central AC system needs to handle over its lifetime. How hard local weather works a system is a local question, and installation decisions here should reflect conditions here.
248 severe weather events, 2015–2024. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database.