New York HVAC Help
Aerial view of a gray central air conditioning condenser unit on a concrete pad next to a house with vinyl siding.

AC Installation in Kingston, NY

A new air conditioner in Kingston will run from July through August every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Ulster County will get in touch.

Tell us about the job

It takes about a minute.

Step 1 of 3: Equipment
An overhead view of a residential air conditioning condenser unit mounted on a concrete pad next to a house with vinyl siding.

A short, hot season is still hard on a system

Kingston only asks for cooling in July and August, but those afternoons average 79°F, and the system has to answer for it right away. There's no easing into the season. It runs hard for two months, then sits idle the rest of the year.

That idle time matters too. Ulster County has logged 372 damaging wind events and 28 hail storms over the past ten years, with hail up to 1.75 inches. An outdoor condenser sits through all of that with no season off. Any new system installed here has to meet the federal minimum of 13.4 SEER2, and it needs to be built to take what the weather does to it between one cooling season and the next.

2 months
July through August, your air conditioner is on duty
79°F
the average summer afternoon it cools against
28 hail events
in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
13.4 SEER2
the federal minimum any new unit must meet
Isometric grayscale illustration of a cutaway house with the roof lifted, showing interior rooms, ductwork, an indoor air handler, and an outdoor condenser unit beside the building.
Your air conditioner works hardest from July through August.

NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals

An outdoor air conditioning condenser unit on a concrete pad next to the gray vinyl siding of a residential home.

Going above the federal minimum saves little here, about $20 a year.

  • A higher-efficiency unit$140 a year
  • A new unit at the federal minimum, 13.4 SEER2$160 a year

Estimates for a typical Ulster County home, from EIA household energy data, New York fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.

What size air conditioner does my house need?
The right size depends on your square footage, your insulation, how many windows you have and which way they face, and your ceiling height. A unit that's too big cools the air fast but shuts off before it pulls the moisture out, so the house feels clammy. A unit that's too small runs constantly and still can't keep up on the hottest afternoons. A contractor works this out with a load calculation done room by room, not just a square footage chart, since two houses the same size can need different tonnage.
Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
If your indoor coil and outdoor unit are different ages or different efficiency levels, replacing just the outdoor unit usually isn't the better move. The two are matched at the factory to work together, and pairing an old coil with a new condenser can mean you never get the efficiency or the cooling you paid for. Refrigerant type matters too, since older systems used R-22 and new units don't run on it. A contractor can check what you have and tell you whether the coil is worth keeping.
Do HVAC contractors in Kingston need a state license to work on my home?
Yes, HVAC contractors need a state license to install or service central air conditioning in a home. Ask to see the license number and confirm it before work starts. A licensed contractor also carries the insurance that protects you if something goes wrong during the job.
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