HVAC Installation in Austin, TX
A new system here will heat from November through March and cool from April through October every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Travis County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Travis County asks for both, most of the year
Summer afternoons here average 95°F, and cooling runs from April through October, seven months. Winter is shorter but still real. Nights average 40°F from December through February, and homes need heat November through March, five months. Between the two, a system here is working nearly all year, one season or the other.
56.8% of homes in the area heat with electricity, so the furnace or heat pump leans on the same grid that comes under strain in a hard freeze. Travis County has seen 9 winter storms and 103 damaging wind events over the last ten years, and in 2024, 33% of Texas households lost power for at least 24 hours. A new system here has to handle the summer heat load, hold up through winter cold snaps, and keep running when the weather turns rough.
- 5 months
- November through March, your system heats
- 7 months
- April through October, it cools
- 40°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 95°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Texas requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation tests HVAC contractors and keeps a record of who holds a license. That license belongs to the contractor, not to any single job, so it stands behind every installation they do, not just this one.
For an installation like this one, that license is what backs the person doing the work, but the job itself gets checked separately. In most cities and counties in Texas, putting in a new heating and cooling system needs a permit from the local building office, and an inspector checks the finished work before it is signed off.
Source: Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation
- When should I replace my HVAC system?
- Replace it when repairs start coming back to back, or when a major part fails on a unit that's already old. A big repair on an aging furnace or air conditioner is rarely worth paying for, since the rest of the system is close behind. If your energy bills have been climbing without a clear reason, that's another sign the system is losing efficiency. A contractor can look at the unit and tell you whether what's in front of you is a repair or the start of a pattern.
- Should I replace my furnace and air conditioner at the same time?
- If they're close in age, yes, it usually makes sense to replace both together. Your furnace and air conditioner share the same blower and ductwork, and pairing a new unit with an old one means the new one is limited by the old one's condition. It also means you're not paying for a second installation visit a year or two later. If one is much newer than the other, a contractor can look at both and tell you if pairing them still makes sense.
- What happens during an HVAC installation?
- A contractor removes the old furnace and air conditioner, or the parts of the system being replaced, and sets the new equipment in place. This includes connecting it to your ductwork, running the refrigerant lines, wiring it in, and setting up the thermostat. Once it's connected, they check the refrigerant charge, test airflow, and run the system through a cycle to make sure it's heating and cooling correctly before they leave. The exact steps depend on what's being replaced and how your home is set up, so a contractor looking at your specific system will walk you through what applies to your job.