AC Repair in Auburn, AL
Air conditioners here run from May through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Lee County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Five months of Auburn heat, every year
Your air conditioner runs from May through September here, with summer afternoons averaging 90°F. That kind of stretch means the compressor and the fan motor rarely get a break once the weather turns warm. The strain shows up as a unit that runs longer to hit the same temperature, or one that stops cooling in the middle of the afternoon.
Lee County has also seen its share of hard weather, with 52 damaging wind events and 24 hail events over the past ten years, including hail up to 1.75 inches. Wind can rock an outdoor unit on its pad or bend the fins on the coil, and hail can dent the cabinet or damage the coil itself. Either one can turn into a refrigerant leak or a system that struggles to move air the way it should.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 90°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 24 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 52 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new air conditioner would cut about $60 a year off cooling for a typical Lee County home.
Estimates for a typical Lee 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.
That license comes from the Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Contractors. It covers the contractor as a whole, not a single job, so it stays in place across every repair they take on, this one included.
For a repair like this, that license is what stands behind the work. If fixing your air conditioner means opening the refrigerant side, the technician also needs EPA Section 608 certification. That is a federal rule that applies everywhere, not something Alabama adds on top of its own license.
Source: Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- The most common reason is a dirty air filter choking off airflow across the coil. When that happens the coil can freeze up and the air coming out turns weak or warm. Low refrigerant from a leak causes the same symptom, but that's not something you can check yourself. If the filter looks clean and the air is still not cold, a contractor will need to check the refrigerant charge and the coil itself.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Most of the time it's a clogged condensate drain line. Your AC pulls moisture out of the air all summer and that water has to drain somewhere, and algae or dirt can block the line so it backs up and drips inside instead. A frozen coil that's thawing out can also cause a sudden puddle. Either way, a contractor can clear the line or find what's actually blocking it.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat batteries and the breaker before assuming the worst. A tripped breaker or a dead thermostat display will stop the whole system cold with nothing actually wrong with the AC itself. With 52 damaging wind events recorded here over the past ten years, a tripped breaker after a storm is worth checking first. If the breaker is fine and the thermostat has power, the problem is inside the unit and a contractor will need to look at it.