AC Repair in Anniston, AL
Air conditioners here run from May through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Calhoun County will get in touch.
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Five months of heat, and storms besides
Your air conditioner works from May through September in Anniston, with summer afternoons averaging 89°F. That is five straight months where the system runs long hours just to keep the house comfortable, and the compressor and capacitor take the strain of it.
Calhoun County has also seen 57 damaging wind events and 30 hail events over the past ten years, with hail up to 3 inches. The outdoor unit sits outside through all of it, and a hard enough storm can bend the fins on the condenser coil or damage the fan. If your air conditioner is blowing warm air or struggling to keep up on the hottest afternoons, either the long summer or a storm could be behind it.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 89°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 30 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 57 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new air conditioner would cut about $50 a year off cooling for a typical Calhoun County home.
Estimates for a typical Calhoun County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Alabama fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Repair makes sense when a part like a capacitor or contactor has failed.
Replacement makes sense when the compressor has failed or the system uses R-22 refrigerant, which is no longer made.
Alabama requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Contractors tests and licenses HVAC contractors before they can take on work like this. The license belongs to the contractor, not to the job itself, so it stands behind whoever shows up whether the repair is small or large.
Because an air conditioner repair means someone is likely opening the refrigerant side of the system, the technician doing that part of the work also needs EPA Section 608 certification. That certification comes from the federal government, not the state, and it applies no matter where the repair happens.
Source: Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- Most of the time this comes down to a dirty air filter, a frozen coil, or low refrigerant. A clogged filter chokes off airflow across the coil until it ices over, and once that happens the air coming out of your vents turns warm even though the unit is running fine. Refrigerant only leaves the system through a leak, so if that is the cause, cold air will not come back until a contractor finds the leak and repairs it. With summer afternoons here running around 89°F, an AC that is not cooling right will fall behind fast, so it is worth checking the filter first before calling anyone.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Water around your indoor unit almost always means the condensate drain line is clogged or the coil has frozen and is now melting. The drain line carries away the water your coil pulls out of the air, and algae or dirt can block it over time, sending water backing up into your home instead. A frozen coil is often tied to the same airflow problems that cause weak cooling, low refrigerant, a dirty filter, or a blocked return. Either way, shutting the system off and calling a contractor keeps the leak from spreading to your floors or ceiling.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with your thermostat and your breaker panel before assuming the worst. A dead thermostat battery, a tripped breaker, or a blown fuse will stop your AC cold and none of those require a technician to fix. If power is reaching the unit and it still will not start, the capacitor or the contactor inside it may have failed, and those are parts a licensed contractor needs to test and replace. Anniston sees its share of damaging wind, 57 events over the last ten years, so it is also worth checking that nothing outside tripped a breaker or knocked loose a connection to the outdoor unit.