Air Conditioner Installation

Sizing comes first

A bigger air conditioner is not a better one. An oversized system cools the air fast, shuts off before it has removed much moisture and cycles on and off all day, which wears out parts and leaves rooms uneven. An undersized one runs without a break on the hottest afternoons. We size systems with a Manual J load calculation, which looks at your square footage, windows, insulation, air leakage and which way the house faces. Then we choose equipment that matches the load and check that your ducts can carry the airflow it needs.

Efficiency ratings, explained

Air conditioners are rated by SEER2, a measure of how much cooling you get for the electricity used over a typical season. Higher numbers cost more up front and less to run. Single-stage units run at full output or not at all. Two-stage and variable-speed units can run at lower output for longer, which keeps temperatures steadier and is quieter. With dry summers and cool nights, many homes here do well with a mid-range unit, but a hot upstairs or a big west-facing wall can make a variable-speed system worth it. We show you the options and the running-cost difference so you can weigh them.

New refrigerants in new systems

Since 2025, new central air conditioners and heat pumps have moved to refrigerants with a lower climate impact, mainly R-454B and R-32. These are classed as A2L, which means mildly flammable, and they come with updated installation rules covering leak detection and line sets. An existing line set can sometimes be reused if it is the right size and passes a pressure test, but the new outdoor unit needs a matching indoor coil. We check what you have and tell you what must be replaced and why.

Adding air conditioning to a home that never had it

Plenty of older homes around Denver were built with a furnace and no air conditioning, or cooled with a swamp cooler on the roof or in a window. If the house has ducts, we check that they are large enough for cooling, since ducts sized only for heat can be too small for the airflow air conditioning needs. If there are no ducts, or the ducts cannot be fixed, a ductless mini-split system is often the cleaner choice. Removing an old swamp cooler and sealing the roof or wall opening can be part of the same job.

What installation day looks like

Most replacements take one day. We protect the floors, recover the refrigerant from the old system as the law requires and remove the old equipment. We set the new outdoor unit on a level pad, install the matching indoor coil, then pressure test and evacuate the lines before charging. Most cities and counties across Denver Metro require a mechanical permit for this work, and we pull it and schedule the inspection. Before we leave, we test the system, show you the thermostat and register the warranty.