AC Repair in Huntsville, AL
Air conditioners here run from May through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Madison County will get in touch.
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Five months of 88 degree afternoons wear on your AC
From May through September your air conditioner is working almost every day, and Huntsville summer afternoons average 88°F. That kind of steady load adds up on the compressor and the capacitor that starts it. A weak capacitor can't get the compressor going, and the unit hums or clicks but never kicks on.
Madison County has also logged 431 damaging wind events and 106 hail events over the past ten years, with hail up to 2.5 inches. Wind can bend or loosen the fins on your outdoor unit, and hail that size can dent the cabinet or damage the fan blade. If your air is blowing warm or the outside unit sounds different than it used to, one of those could be why.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 88°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 106 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 431 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 Madison County home.
Estimates for a typical Madison 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 board tests contractors before they get that license, and it keeps a record of who holds one. What it licenses is the contractor, not the specific repair, so the same license covers this job and the next one.
An air conditioner repair usually means opening the refrigerant side of the system, and federal law requires anyone who does that, in any state, to hold EPA Section 608 certification. In Alabama that certification sits alongside the state license rather than in place of it.
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 can freeze the coil solid, and once that happens the air coming out feels warm no matter what the thermostat says. Low refrigerant needs a licensed contractor to find the leak and recharge it properly, since venting refrigerant on your own is illegal. If the outdoor unit isn't running at all while the indoor blower is, that points to a capacitor or a failed contactor instead.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- The condensate drain line is probably clogged, which backs water up until it overflows the pan instead of draining outside. Algae and dust build up in that line over a cooling season and block it, especially with five months of steady use here. A frozen coil that then thaws fast can also flood the pan faster than it can drain. If the pan itself has rusted through, it will need replacing rather than just clearing the line.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat batteries and the breaker before assuming the worst. If the breaker keeps tripping, that usually means the compressor or a motor is drawing too much current and pulling power to it isn't safe. A tripped float switch will also shut the whole system down on purpose if the condensate pan is full, so check that the drain isn't backed up. Beyond that, a failed capacitor or contactor keeps the outdoor unit from starting even when the indoor side seems fine, and that's a job for a licensed contractor to test and replace.