Missouri HVAC Match
Overhead view of a gray outdoor AC condenser unit on a concrete pad beside a mulched garden bed and a house with vinyl siding.

AC Installation in Kansas City, MO

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

Tell us about the job

It takes about a minute.

Step 1 of 3: Equipment
An outdoor air conditioning condenser unit installed beside the exterior wall of a blue vinyl-sided house at sunset.

Five months of real heat, and the storms that come with it

Jackson County asks a new air conditioner to run from May through September, five months a year, with summer afternoons averaging 86°F. That is a long stretch of steady work, and a new system needs to be sized and installed to carry it without strain.

The county has also logged 127 hail events and 212 damaging wind events over the past ten years, with hail as large as 3 inches. An outdoor unit sits exposed to that. Any new central air conditioner installed today has to meet a federal efficiency minimum of 13.4 SEER2.

5 months
May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
86°F
the average summer afternoon it cools against
127 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 house showing interior rooms, a furnace or air handler with ductwork, and an outdoor condenser unit beside the building.
Your air conditioner works hardest from June through August.

NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals

An outdoor air conditioning condenser unit positioned on a concrete pad next to a blue-sided house, surrounded by green shrubs and flowering hydrangeas at sunset.

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

  • A higher-efficiency unit$240 a year
  • A new unit at the federal minimum, 13.4 SEER2$270 a year

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

What size air conditioner does my house need?
It depends on your square footage, your insulation, and how many windows you have and which way they face, so no one can give you a number without looking at the house. A contractor works this out with a load calculation, not a chart based on home size alone. Going too big causes as many problems as going too small. An oversized unit cools the air fast and shuts off before it pulls the humidity out, so the house feels clammy even at the right temperature. Ask whoever quotes the job to walk you through the load calculation instead of just naming a 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 is not a good option. The coil and the compressor are matched to work together, and pairing an old coil with a new unit can hurt efficiency and shorten the life of the new equipment. Refrigerant type matters too. Older systems use refrigerants that are being phased out, and a new outdoor unit will not run on them. A contractor can check what you have and tell you whether the coil is still compatible.
Do HVAC contractors in Kansas City need a state license to work on my home?
Ask for a license before any work starts, and confirm it is current. Licensing rules for HVAC contractors vary by state and city, so a contractor working in Kansas City can tell you exactly what license applies here and give you the number to check. A licensed contractor also carries the insurance that protects you if something goes wrong during installation.
Find a contractor