AC Repair in Gadsden, AL
Air conditioners here run from May through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Etowah County will get in touch.
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It takes about a minute.
Five months of heat wear on your AC
Your air conditioner runs May through September in Etowah County, and on afternoons that average 89°F it doesn't get much of a break. That kind of steady load wears on the compressor and the capacitor that gets it started. When the capacitor weakens, the unit hums but the compressor won't turn over, or it shuts off a few minutes after it starts.
Storms add their own damage. Etowah County has seen 71 damaging wind events and 29 hail events over the past ten years, with hail up to 2 inches. Wind can bend the fins on the outdoor coil or knock the unit out of level, and hail that size can dent the coil or the fan grille. If your AC has run rough since the last storm, that is worth a look.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 89°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 29 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 71 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 Etowah County home.
Estimates for a typical Etowah 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 state license is tied to the contractor, not to the specific repair. The Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Contractors tested and licensed the business before it took on jobs like this one, and that license stays on record with the state no matter how many repairs the contractor handles.
Some air conditioner repairs mean opening the refrigerant side of the system. Federal law requires whoever does that work to hold EPA Section 608 certification, and that rule applies in Alabama the same as anywhere else in the country. Here, that certification sits alongside the state license rather than replacing it.
Source: Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- Most of the time it's a dirty air filter choking off airflow, or the refrigerant charge is low from a leak somewhere in the line set. A frozen evaporator coil will do this too, and it usually froze because airflow was already restricted. Check the filter first since that's the one thing you can rule out yourself. If it's clean and air still isn't cold, the system needs a contractor to check the refrigerant charge and look for a leak.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- The condensate drain line is clogged, and water that should run outside is backing up into your house instead. Algae and dirt build up in that line over a cooling season and eventually block it. A frozen coil that's thawing out will also leak more water than the drain can handle at once. Shut the system off if water is pooling near it, and have a contractor clear the line before running it again.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat batteries and the breaker before assuming it's the AC itself. A tripped breaker is common after a storm, and Gadsden sees its share of damaging wind, 71 events over the last ten years, that can cause a power blip strong enough to trip one. If the breaker is fine and the thermostat has power, the problem is likely the capacitor or the contactor, and a licensed contractor will need to test those.