AC replacement in Bastrop, TX

When replacement is the better question

Three situations push most Bastrop households from repair toward replacement.

A major part on an old system. A compressor, an indoor coil leak or a failed outdoor coil on a system installed before about 2011. The repair is a large share of a new system and leaves every other aging part in place.

R-22. A system still on R-22 can be repaired, but the refrigerant has not been produced or imported since 2020, so every recharge uses reclaimed supply.

Repeat visits. Two service calls in one summer, or a second refrigerant top-up, is itself a verdict on the system.

What changed with the refrigerant

Since 2025 new home air conditioners and heat pumps ship charged with R-454B or R-32 instead of R-410A. Both are mildly flammable and use different service tools and leak detection, so the new outdoor unit and the indoor coil are replaced as a pair. An existing R-410A system is not affected: it can be repaired and recharged with no end date.

For a replacement this means one practical thing. A quote that changes only the outdoor unit and keeps the old coil does not fit the new refrigerants. Ask which indoor coil is included and confirm it is listed as a match for the outdoor model.

What a changeout includes

A like-for-like changeout usually takes one long day and keeps the existing ducts. A complete quote names:

• The size, and how it was worked out. The answer should describe a load calculation of this house: windows, insulation, attic, orientation, duct and return sizes. The tonnage of the old unit is not a calculation. An oversized AC in a humid Central Texas summer shuts off before it has pulled the moisture out, and the house feels damp.
• The matched indoor coil, and whether the air handler or furnace is replaced with it.
• The line set. Whether the copper lines are replaced or flushed and reused, and why.
• The attic parts. A new secondary drain pan, a float switch, the condensate line, and duct connections sealed at the new unit.
• The electrical. A new disconnect and whip where the old ones are worn.
• The permit, and who pulls it.

Permit and license

Inside the City of Bastrop, replacing an AC needs a mechanical permit from the city, and the contractor's application carries its Texas license number. Bastrop County does not issue building permits outside city limits, so a rural replacement has no county permit. Either way the contractor needs a Texas Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractor License, and Texas requires that number on the contractor's proposals and invoices. Check it on the TDLR license search before anything is signed.

A quote already in hand

A second contractor looking at the same system before a deposit is an ordinary step. Compare the two quotes on size and how it was calculated, the coil model, the attic work and the permit, not only on the total.

What to say when you call

• The install year and refrigerant from the outdoor data plate
• What failed, if a technician has already named it
• Whether you have a heat pump, an electric furnace or a gas furnace indoors
• Where the indoor unit sits, and roughly the square footage of the house
• Whether a replacement figure has already been quoted

Common questions

Does the indoor unit have to be replaced too? The indoor coil almost always does with the new refrigerants. The air handler or furnace depends on its age and on whether it is matched to the new outdoor unit.

How long is the house without cooling? Usually one working day. In July, ask for a morning start, before the attic heats up.

Is a heat pump worth considering? In a house that already heats with electric strips, often yes. See heat pumps.