AC Installation in Marshalltown, IA
A new air conditioner in Marshalltown will run from June through August every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Marshall County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Three months of real heat, and hail to think about
Marshalltown asks three months of real work from an air conditioner, June through August, with summer afternoons averaging 82°F. That is a short season compared to a lot of the country, but it still needs to hold up on the hottest days it gets.
Marshall County has logged 31 hail events and 65 damaging wind events over the past ten years, with hail up to 1.75 inches recorded. The outdoor unit sits outside through that, so the cabinet and coil need to take some weather. Any new central air conditioner installed today also has to meet the federal efficiency minimum of 13.4 SEER2, so that baseline is already built into what you're buying.
- 3 months
- June through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 82°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 31 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 Marshall County home, from EIA household energy data, Iowa fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Iowa requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license is issued to the contractor, not to the job, so it covers the business doing the work rather than any single installation. Iowa's Plumbing and Mechanical Systems Board tests and records who holds one, and that record is what stands behind the person in your house.
For an air conditioner installation in Marshall County, most cities and counties also require a permit from the local building office, with an inspection once the work is done. That inspection checks the installation itself, separate from whatever the state license already tells you about the contractor.
Sources: Iowa Legislature · Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- There's no single number that fits every house. Sizing depends on your square footage, how much insulation you have, how many windows face the sun, and the layout of your ductwork. A unit that's too big cools the air fast but shuts off before it pulls the humidity down, so rooms feel clammy. A unit that's too small runs constantly and never quite catches up on a hot afternoon. A contractor will do a load calculation on your actual house rather than guess from square footage alone.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- If your indoor coil and outdoor unit were installed together and are close in age, replace both at the same time. Matching an old coil to a new outdoor unit often means the two aren't rated to work together, so you lose efficiency and can shorten the life of the new equipment. It also gets harder to find a coil that matches an older system, since refrigerants and coil designs have changed over the years. A contractor can check your coil's condition and tell you whether it's worth keeping.
- Do HVAC contractors in Marshalltown need a state license to work on my home?
- Yes. Iowa requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license, issued by the Iowa Plumbing and Mechanical Systems Board. For an air conditioner installation, you'll also likely need a permit from the local building office, with an inspection once the work is done. Ask to see the contractor's license number before work starts.