Runtime hours, not years in Kirkwood
907 cooling degree days and about 29 days a year above 90F, so running hours are middling and equipment life lands near the national average; the median home dates from 1962, and ductwork and insulation of that era rarely keep up with a modern system, so the ducts are worth looking at before you replace.
907 cooling degree days and about 29 days a year above 90F, so running hours are middling and equipment life lands near the national average
the median home dates from 1962, and ductwork and insulation of that era rarely keep up with a modern system, so the ducts are worth looking at before you replace
Kirkwood runs about 907 cooling degree days a year, which is a direct proxy for how many hours the compressor will actually turn - and compressors wear out by running hours, not by calendar years.
Why this changes what you should buy
In a dry climate the machine is doing almost pure sensible cooling, so the limiting factors move outdoors: how hot the condenser gets, how much dust is packed into its fins, and how many hours a year it runs. Those are maintenance and placement questions more than equipment questions.
Kirkwood gets roughly 29 days a year above 32 Celsius, and those are the days a system that is even slightly undersized will never catch up.
What to ask for, in order
- A Manual J load calculation, not a square-footage rule of thumb
- Shade or at least afternoon relief for the outdoor unit, without blocking airflow
- A maintenance interval that includes washing the condenser coil, which fills fast here
- Duct inspection before sizing, because attic ducts in this climate leak into very hot air
The median home in Kirkwood dates from 1962, which is a good guide to what the ductwork looks like behind the walls.
Prices in nearby cities
Ballwin · Independence · Joplin · O'Fallon · Springfield · Peoria · Evansville · Owensboro · Jonesboro · Clarksville · Jackson · Kansas City