AC Repair in Prattville, AL
Air conditioners here run from May through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Autauga County will get in touch.
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Five months of Prattville heat wears an AC down
Your air conditioner runs from May through September here, with summer afternoons averaging 91°F. That is five months of long, steady run time, and the compressor and the fan motor carry that load every one of those days. A unit sized for a mild climate would struggle here. One built for this heat still wears, just slower.
Autauga County has also seen 34 damaging wind events over the past ten years, along with hail up to 2 inches. Wind can bend the fins on the outdoor coil or knock debris into the unit, and either one blocks the airflow the system needs to cool the house. If your AC is running longer than it used to, or the air coming out feels weaker, that is often where it starts.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 91°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 5 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 34 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new air conditioner would cut about $70 a year off cooling for a typical Autauga County home.
Estimates for a typical Autauga 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're licensed, and the license belongs to the contractor, not to any single job. That means the same license covers the company whether they're repairing your air conditioner or installing one down the street, and it's on record with the board rather than just filed away somewhere.
For a repair like this, the license is what stands behind the work. If the job involves opening the refrigerant side of your system, which most air conditioner repairs do, the technician doing it also has to hold EPA Section 608 certification. That's a federal requirement in every state, separate from Alabama's license, and it exists because refrigerant work is handled under its own rule no matter where you live.
Source: Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- Most of the time the filter is clogged, or the outdoor unit is dirty enough that it cannot let go of heat. Check the filter first. If it is gray and matted, replace it and see if airflow improves within an hour. A dirty condenser coil outside does the same thing, and with summer afternoons here running near 91°F, a struggling unit falls behind fast. If the filter is clean and the outdoor unit looks clear, the charge may be low, and that calls for a licensed contractor to check.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- The drain line is probably clogged. Your AC pulls moisture out of the air and that water is supposed to run out through a small drain line to the outside. Algae and dirt build up in that line over a cooling season and block it, so the water backs up and drips inside instead. A contractor can clear the line, and if it happens again soon after, there may be a cracked drain pan behind it.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat and the breaker. Make sure the thermostat is set to cool and a few degrees below room temperature, and check that the breaker for the outdoor unit hasn't tripped. If both look fine and it still won't start, the capacitor may have failed, which is common after years of summer heat like the 91°F afternoons this area sees from May through September. That part needs a licensed contractor to test and replace.