AC Repair in Cullman, AL
Air conditioners here run from May through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Cullman County will get in touch.
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Five months of Cullman heat wears on your AC
From May through September your air conditioner runs almost every day, working against afternoons that average 88°F. That kind of steady load adds up on the compressor and the capacitor that helps start it. A weak capacitor can't get the compressor going, and the unit hums or clicks outside but never blows cold air.
Cullman has also seen 174 damaging wind events and 37 hail events over the past ten years, with hail up to 5.38 inches recorded. Hail that size can bend the thin fins on your outdoor unit's coil, and high wind can pull debris into it. Either one blocks airflow across the coil, and you'll notice the air coming from your vents isn't as cold as it should be.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 88°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 37 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 174 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 Cullman County home.
Estimates for a typical Cullman 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 records the contractor, not the crew member who shows up at your door and not the specific repair. Passing that exam and holding that license is what puts a name on file with the state.
For the repair itself, the part that matters is refrigerant. If the work means opening the sealed side of your air conditioner, whoever does that also needs EPA Section 608 certification, a federal requirement that applies in every state regardless of what Alabama does with its own license.
Source: Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- Most often the filter is clogged and starving the system of airflow, or the refrigerant charge is low from a leak. A dirty filter makes the coil freeze up, and once that happens the air coming through goes warm. Check the filter first since that part you can do yourself. If it's clean and the air still isn't cold, a contractor needs to check the refrigerant charge, since running it low can damage the compressor.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- The drain line that carries condensation away from your coil is probably clogged. Algae and dust build up inside that line over a summer of running, and once it backs up the water has nowhere to go but out through the pan or the ceiling below it. A frozen coil that's thawing will also drip more water than the drain can handle. Either way, a contractor can clear the line and check whether the coil froze from low airflow or low refrigerant.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat, since dead batteries or a setting bumped off cool will stop the system before it ever gets a call for power. Check the breaker too, since a tripped one will keep the whole unit dark. If the thermostat is set right and the breaker's fine, the problem is likely inside the unit, in the capacitor or the control board, and that's a job for a licensed contractor to open up and test.