AC Installation in Dickinson, ND
A new air conditioner in Dickinson will run from July through August every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Stark County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Two months of real heat, and hail to plan around
Dickinson only needs cooling in July and August, with afternoons averaging 81°F. That is a short season, but it still has to work every one of those days, and a new system has to be sized for what those two months actually demand, not just left over from whatever was here before.
Stark County has logged 64 hail events and 95 damaging wind events over the past ten years, with hail up to 3 inches. The outdoor unit sits outside through all of that, so where it goes and how it is protected matters as much as the equipment itself. Any new central air conditioner installed now also has to meet the federal minimum of 13.4 SEER2.
- 2 months
- July through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 81°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 64 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 $10 a year.
Estimates for a typical Stark County home, from EIA household energy data, North Dakota fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
North Dakota requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The state license is held by the contractor, not issued job by job, so it is the business itself that the Secretary of State has on record. In North Dakota, work under $4,000 does not need a licensed contractor, so a small repair can fall outside that requirement, though a full air conditioner installation typically runs well past that threshold.
An installation like this also goes through the local building office in most cities and counties, which means a permit and an inspection once the work is finished. That inspection is separate from the state license. It gives someone from the local office a look at the finished installation, on top of whatever the license already tells you about the contractor doing the work.
Sources: North Dakota Legislative Branch · North Dakota Secretary of State
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- It depends on more than square footage. A contractor works this out with a load calculation that accounts for your home's layout, insulation, window area, and shade, not a rule of thumb. A unit that's too big or too small for the house causes problems either way, short cycling or poor cooling, so this is worth having measured rather than guessed at. A contractor can walk your house and tell you the right size.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- If your indoor coil and outdoor unit were installed together, replacing only the outdoor unit usually is not a good idea. The two parts are matched to work together, and pairing an old coil with a new condenser can hurt efficiency and shorten the life of the new equipment. A contractor can check the age and condition of your indoor coil and tell you whether it can be reused or needs to come out with the rest of the system.
- Do HVAC contractors in Dickinson need a state license to work on my home?
- Yes. North Dakota requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license, and that license covers the contractor rather than each individual job. Installing a new air conditioner also typically needs a permit from the local building office and an inspection once the work is finished. A contractor will price the job for your specific house, so ask to see their license before the work starts.