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

AC Installation in Yonkers, NY

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

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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.

Three months of real heat, and storms in between

Yonkers only asks for cooling from June through August, but those afternoons average 82°F, and a new system has to handle that load without running all year to earn its keep. A short season doesn't mean light duty. It means the unit works hard for three months and sits idle the rest of the year, and it needs to be sized and installed to do both well.

The area has also logged 167 damaging wind events and 16 hail events over the past ten years, with hailstones up to 1.75 inches. An outdoor condenser sits exposed to that, so how and where it gets installed matters. Any new central air conditioner installed today also has to meet the federal efficiency minimum of 13.4 SEER2, so that's the baseline a new system starts from.

3 months
June through August, your air conditioner is on duty
82°F
the average summer afternoon it cools against
16 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 line illustration of a cutaway single-story building showing interior rooms, ceiling ductwork and an air handler, connected by lines to an outdoor condenser unit beside the exterior wall.
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.

A higher-efficiency unit would save about $30 a year to run in Westchester County compared with a new unit at the federal minimum.

  • A higher-efficiency unit$260 a year
  • A new unit at the federal minimum, 13.4 SEER2$290 a year

Estimates for a typical Westchester 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?
It depends on your home, not a rule of thumb like square footage alone. A contractor sizes the unit with a load calculation that accounts for your insulation, window area, ceiling height, and how much shade the house gets. An oversized unit cools the air fast but shuts off before it pulls the humidity out, so the house feels clammy. Undersized, and it runs constantly on the hottest afternoons and still can't keep up. Get the calculation done rather than matching the size of the old unit, since the old one may have been wrong too.
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. An old coil paired with a new condenser often runs at lower efficiency than either part is rated for. Some manufacturers won't warranty the new unit without a matching coil. Older systems also use a refrigerant that's being phased out, and a new outdoor unit likely won't run on it. A contractor can check the age and condition of what you have and tell you whether the coil is worth keeping.
Do HVAC contractors in Yonkers need a state license to work on my home?
Ask to see a license before work starts, and confirm it's current. A licensed contractor has to follow the electrical and refrigerant handling codes that keep the installation safe. That matters for a new outdoor unit especially, since it has to be sized and wired correctly to run as rated. A contractor working in Yonkers can tell you what licensing applies to the job at your address.
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