Cooling · Central AC & mini-split
An AC that's charged and tested at your static pressure, not the manufacturer's chart
Ac repair Austin calls peak in July and August, and by then a marginal system is running flat out with nowhere to go. We commission every install and most repairs against a measured static-pressure reading, because refrigerant charge set against a spec sheet on an undersized duct system is a guess, not a fix.
- Static pressure test, every job
- Matched coil & condenser
- Single or multi-zone ductless
Central air conditioning installation cost in Austin depends less on the brand on the condenser than on what has to change to get air moving through the house correctly. A straight swap of a matched system, same tonnage, same duct layout, is the cheap version. It gets more expensive when the return is undersized, the supply trunk is crushed in a tight attic run, the last contractor set the coil on a furnace it was never rated to sit on top of, or the electrical disconnect needs upgrading to match the new unit's amperage. We quote after we've looked, not before.
Ductless mini split installation in Austin solves a different problem: rooms the ducted system was never built to reach. A converted garage, a sunroom addition, an apartment above a detached garage. One outdoor condenser can run one indoor head or several, and each zone runs its own temperature independent of the rest of the house — useful for a home office that runs hot from equipment while the rest of the house doesn't.
Item 01
Central AC Install
Matched coil and condenser sized off a load calc, then commissioned with a static-pressure check across the air handler, not just a refrigerant charge at the outdoor unit. A system can hold the right charge and still choke if the return duct can't move enough air — we test for that before we hand you the keys.
| Sizing method | Manual J load calc, matched coil and condenser tonnage |
|---|---|
| Commissioning | Static pressure test at the air handler plus refrigerant charge verification |
| Typical duration | One day for a matched swap; longer if the coil or plenum needs rebuilding |
| Includes | Disconnect, line set flush or replacement, condensate check, startup report |
Price basis: installed price after a load calc, from $4,800
Item 02
Ductless Mini-Split Add-On
Single-zone for one problem room, multi-zone for an addition or a whole detached unit. Priced per indoor head because that's genuinely how the cost scales: the line set run and the wall penetration are the labor, not the equipment. Good for rooms the ducted system never reached without tearing open a ceiling to get there.
| Configuration | Single-zone or multi-zone, up to four indoor heads per outdoor unit |
|---|---|
| Sizing method | Room-by-room load estimate against window area and orientation |
| Typical duration | Half a day per indoor head, including line set and electrical |
| Includes | Line set, wall sleeve, condensate pump if needed, startup vacuum test |
Price basis: per indoor head installed, from $2,100
What we won't do
We won't top off a refrigerant charge on a system that's leaking without finding the leak first — a charge that disappears in six weeks is a repeat call-out, and we'd rather diagnose it once. We also won't install a mini-split head facing straight into a couch or a bed frame just because that's where the wall stud happened to be; airflow gets planned before the drill comes out.