AC in the winter? Brrrr-rilliant!

It's one of the best investments you can make in your home. And the best time to put it in is the dead of winter. From Money Magazine's Josh Garskof

(Money Magazine) -- Nobody thinks much about air conditioning this time of year. Heck, depending on where you live, your heat may already be on for the season and your flannel pajamas pulled out of storage.

But if your house doesn't have central air, or if the system you have is about 15 years old (and therefore probably nearing the end of its life span), you should get the job done this winter. Not only will it automatically raise the value of your property, but you'll snag an iceberg-size seasonal discount.

Winter is a slow time for contractors. "In December we're trying to find enough work to keep our crews busy, so our pencils are a lot sharper," says Robert Wilkos, general manager of Peaden Air Conditioning in Panama City, Fla.

How sharp? Like many contractors around the country, Wilkos typically knocks 10 percent and sometimes as much as 20 percent off his wintertime bids. That's a savings of up to $3,000 on the $6,000 to $15,000 central AC costs.

Even at full price, adding a well-designed central air system is a no-brainer. Not only does a system cool and dehumidify the air far more effectively than window units, but it filters out allergens and dust and lets you use your whole house, instead of confining you to a couple of rooms.

What's more, central AC instantly increases the value of your house by at least as much as it costs to install, and in warm climates by up to 10 percent more, according to appraiser Alan Hummel, a spokesman for the Appraisal Institute, a national standards-setting organization.

"It's not just in the South, where air conditioning is expected," he says, but anywhere summers get hot.

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