California HVAC Match
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 San Rafael, CA

Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Marin 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.

San Rafael doesn't ask much of an air conditioner

Summer afternoons here average 71 degrees. That's mild enough that a lot of homes get by without cooling at all.

A new system still has to be sized and installed right for the house it's going into. If it's a central air conditioner built since 2023, it has to meet a federal minimum of 14.3 SEER2. The work here is about getting that install right, not fighting a long, hot season.

71°F
the average summer afternoon it cools against
11 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 illustration of a cutaway house showing interior rooms, an attic furnace with large ducts, and an outdoor condenser unit connected by a line set, on a white background.
Your air conditioner works hardest from August through September.

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 $0 a year.

  • A new unit at the federal minimum, 14.3 SEER2$30 a year
  • A higher-efficiency unit$30 a year

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

California requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.

California licenses HVAC contractors through the Contractors State License Board. That license belongs to the contractor, not to any single job, so it stays in place whether this is their first air conditioner install or their thousandth.

For this job, the license covers the contractor doing the work. The installation itself still goes through the local building office. Most cities and counties in California require a permit to replace an air conditioner, and an inspection once the work is done.

Sources: California Legislative Counsel · Contractors State License Board

What size air conditioner does my house need?
The right size comes from a load calculation, not a rule of thumb tied to square footage. A contractor will look at your insulation, your windows, how many rooms you have and how they're laid out, and San Rafael's mild summers, where the average afternoon high is only 71°F, before landing on a number. Too big a unit cools the air fast but shuts off before it pulls the moisture out, so the room feels clammy. Too small and it runs constantly without keeping up. Have a contractor measure your house rather than guessing from its size alone.
Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
If your indoor coil and outdoor unit weren't matched and installed together, replacing only the outdoor unit can leave you with a mismatched system that doesn't run at its rated efficiency and may wear out sooner. The refrigerant and the coil design have to fit the new unit's specs. A contractor can check whether your existing indoor coil is compatible before deciding. If the whole system is old, replacing both at once is usually the more reliable path, but that's a judgment a contractor should make after looking at what you have.
Do HVAC contractors in San Rafael need a state license to work on my home?
Yes. California requires anyone doing HVAC work to hold a state license, issued by the Contractors State License Board. Ask to see the license number before work starts, and you can look it up directly with the CSLB to confirm it's current.
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