# How to get AC quotes in Deerfield Beach without calling around Describe your AC project in a written scope and add photos of the equipment and the problem. ## Post your AC request in Deerfield Beach InstaBids is in an early pilot in Broward and Palm Beach counties. We are still building our contractor network, so a job may not get bids yet. Your request page shows whether any bids have come in. [Post your AC request](/intake?trade=ac&from=local-deerfield-beach-ac) ## How does InstaBids work, in one paragraph? Describe your job once on InstaBids, with photos and a written scope, and contractors who take part can bid on it. Contact details stay hidden until the homeowner picks a contractor and they confirm the connection. Homeowners in Broward and Palm Beach counties can start a request. InstaBids is not a government-contract tool, auction site or construction company. ## Why get more than one AC quote? Two AC quotes for the same problem can price different jobs: one replaces a part, another replaces the system. Quotes on one written scope let you ask each bidder which difference is the price and which is the plan, which is hard to see from phone calls that each describe the problem differently. ## How do written bids from photos work? Describe the job with photos and a short written scope, and contractors who take part can price that scope without a site visit. Homeowners pay InstaBids nothing. The contractor you pick may visit once before settling the final price against the percentage the bid stated. [How InstaBids works](/how-it-works) sets out the rule. ## What photos should I take of my AC? Photograph the nameplate label on each unit; the contractor reads the model and capacity from it. Add a wide shot of the outdoor unit, the indoor unit and the thermostat, then the problem itself: ice on a pipe, water on the floor, a noise you can film. ## What should I write in the job description? Describe what is happening, when it started, and what you have already tried, such as a new filter or a reset breaker. Add how many rooms are affected and whether it is one system or two. Say if you want a repair price, a replacement price, or both. ## My AC is out today. Should I post a job? No, if you need someone today, call an AC company directly. A request with a written scope suits a repair or replacement you can schedule. If someone in the house is vulnerable to heat, treat it as urgent and call now. ## What makes one AC quote higher than another? Ask each bidder what their estimate includes: a repair or a new system, a bigger or more efficient unit, new ductwork, extra work on the indoor unit, or the permit. Seeing those items side by side tells you whether the lowest number is simply the smallest job. ## Does an AC replacement need a permit in Deerfield Beach? Yes, the City of Deerfield Beach lists air-conditioner replacement among the work that needs a building permit from its Building Services office (954-250-4060). In a condo the owner can't do the work: a contractor must be hired and the permit pulled before work starts. Ask each bidder whether the permit is in the estimate. ## How old are the homes in Deerfield Beach? Most were built before 1980: in ZIP codes 33441 and 33442, which stand in for the city in Census data, about 62 percent of homes predate 1980, and the 1970s were the biggest building decade. In an older home, ask each bidder whether the estimate covers ductwork, the electrical disconnect or the drain line, not only the unit. ## How hard does an AC work in Deerfield Beach? Every month needs cooling at Pompano Beach Airpark, the nearest NOAA station about 4 miles south, whose climate normals (1991-2020) show about 4,600 cooling degree days a year, a running total of how far each day's average temperature sits above 65 degrees F, and about 59 days a year at 90 degrees F or hotter. ## Who can see my contact details? Contractors who bid work from your scope card and photos. Contact details stay hidden until the homeowner picks a contractor and they confirm the connection. The contact-detail filter can miss disguised contact details. ## Sources for the facts on this page - Permit rule: City of Deerfield Beach Building Permit Fee Schedule, which lists an "A/C Change Out Residential" permit and defines residential as single family, duplex and townhouse, [the fee schedule (PDF)](https://www.deerfield-beach.com/DocumentCenter/View/200), checked 29 September 2026; and City of Deerfield Beach Building Services, [the Building Services page](https://www.deerfield-beach.com/294/Building-Services), checked 28 September 2026. - Home ages: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019-2023 5-year estimates, table B25034 (year structure built), ZIP code tabulation areas 33441 and 33442, [table B25034 summary file](https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b25034.dat) (a large data file), checked 1 October 2026. - Weather: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, climate normals (1991-2020), station USW00092805 (Pompano Beach Airpark), [annual normals](https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/data/normals-annualseasonal/1991-2020/access/USW00092805.csv) and [monthly normals](https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/data/normals-monthly/1991-2020/access/USW00092805.csv), checked 1 October 2026. ## More guides for Broward homeowners Each Broward building office's own AC change-out rule is in one table in the [Broward County AC quotes guide](/broward/ac-quotes); other trades start from the [Broward County homeowner guides](/broward), and the state's hiring steps are in the [Florida hiring checklist](/florida/hiring-checklist). Last checked: 28 September 2026