Tennessee HVAC Help
Aerial view of a square outdoor air conditioning condenser unit on a concrete pad beside a house wall with a sliding glass door.

AC Installation in Murfreesboro, TN

A new air conditioner in Murfreesboro will run from May through September every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Rutherford County will get in touch.

Tell us about the job

It takes about a minute.

Step 1 of 3: Equipment
Overhead view of a gray residential air conditioning condenser unit mounted on a concrete pad beside a house with asphalt shingle roofing.

Five months of Murfreesboro heat, on one system

Your air conditioner works from May through September here, with summer afternoons averaging 88°F. That is five months of steady run time, not a few hot weeks. The unit you install needs to handle that whole stretch without strain.

Rutherford County has also logged 137 damaging wind events and 35 hail events over the past ten years, so the outdoor unit needs to hold up to what comes through the area, not just the heat. Any new central air conditioner installed today has to meet a federal minimum of 14.3 SEER2, and the one going in your home should be sized and set up to actually deliver that through a full Tennessee summer.

5 months
May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
88°F
the average summer afternoon it cools against
35 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 cutaway illustration of a single-story house showing interior rooms, ductwork and an air handler in the attic space, and an outdoor condenser unit connected by lines at the exterior wall.
Your air conditioner works hardest from June through August.

NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals

Overhead view of an outdoor AC condenser unit on a concrete pad next to a house with a dark shingle roof.

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

  • A higher-efficiency unit$270 a year
  • A new unit at the federal minimum, 14.3 SEER2$290 a year

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

What size air conditioner does my house need?
The right size comes from a load calculation, not a chart based on square footage alone. A contractor measures your square footage, your insulation, how many windows you have and which way they face, and your ceiling height, then runs those numbers to find the tonnage your house actually needs. An undersized unit will run all afternoon without catching up, especially once temperatures sit near 88°F for the summer. An oversized one cools the air fast but shuts off before it pulls the moisture out, so the house feels damp. Ask whoever quotes the job to show you the load calculation, not just a number.
Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
If your outdoor unit is original to the house and the indoor coil is the same age, replace both together. The two are matched to work at a certain capacity and efficiency, and pairing a new condenser with an old coil often means the system never reaches the performance either part was built for. Some manufacturers will not honor the warranty on a new outdoor unit if it is matched to an old coil. A contractor can check the age and condition of both and tell you whether the coil is worth keeping.
Do HVAC contractors in Murfreesboro need a state license to work on my home?
Ask to see a contractor's license number before work starts on your home. A licensed contractor also carries the insurance that protects you if something goes wrong during the install. If you have any doubt, a contractor should be able to show you proof of both before they start.
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