AC Repair in Pell City, AL
Air conditioners here run from May through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers St. Clair County will get in touch.
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Five months of heat, every year, on your condenser
From May through September your air conditioner has to keep up with afternoons that average 89°F. That kind of stretch keeps the compressor and the fan motor running long hours day after day, and the strain shows up first in weak cooling or a system that runs but never quite gets the house down to temperature.
St. Clair County also sees its share of hail and wind, 17 hail events and 60 damaging wind events over the past ten years. The outdoor unit sits outside through all of it, and a bent coil fin or a damaged fan blade from a storm can cut into how well it cools long before it fails outright.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 89°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 17 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 60 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 St. Clair County home.
Estimates for a typical St. Clair 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 issues that license, and it covers the contractor, not each individual job.
For a repair on your air conditioner, that license is what stands behind the work. If the repair involves opening the refrigerant side of the system, whoever does that also has to hold EPA Section 608 certification, a federal requirement that applies in every state on top of Alabama's 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 outdoor unit is dirty and can't shed heat. A frozen coil will do this too, and if the air coming out is warm rather than weak, low refrigerant from a leak is a common cause. With summer afternoons here hitting around 89°F, a system that's low on refrigerant or fighting a dirty coil struggles even more to keep up. Check the filter first. If it's clean and you're still not getting cold air, have a licensed contractor look at the coil and refrigerant charge.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Water around your indoor unit usually means the condensate drain line is clogged. Algae and dirt build up in that line over time and block the water from draining outside, so it backs up and spills out instead. A frozen coil that then thaws can also flood the drain pan faster than it can clear. Homes here run their AC for 5 months a year, May through September, so that line gets a long stretch of steady use and a clogged drain is worth checking early. A contractor can clear the line and check the drain pan for damage.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat batteries and the breaker for the outdoor unit, since both are common culprits and easy to check yourself. If those are fine, the capacitor that starts the compressor may have failed, or a safety switch may be tripped because the drain line is full or the filter is badly clogged. Storms bring damaging wind to this area, and debris or a power surge from a storm can knock a unit out too. If the basics check out and it still won't start, a licensed contractor can test the electrical components and diagnose it.