AC Repair in Chapel Hill, NC
Air conditioners here run from May through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Orange County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Five months of heat, working your AC hard
From May through September your air conditioner is on most days, and on the afternoons that hit 87°F it runs close to constant. That kind of stretch wears on the compressor and the capacitor that helps start it. A weak capacitor shows up as a unit that hums but won't start, or a fan that spins slow.
Orange County has also logged 121 damaging wind events and 12 hail storms over the past ten years, with hail up to 1.75 inches. Wind can bend the fins on your outdoor unit or knock debris into it, and hail that size can dent the cabinet or damage the coil inside it. After a storm like that, a unit that ran fine the day before can start blowing warm air or tripping off on its own.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 87°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 12 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 121 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new air conditioner would cut about $40 a year off cooling for a typical Orange County home.
Estimates for a typical Orange County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, North Carolina 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.
North Carolina requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The state board tests contractors before they get licensed and keeps a record of who holds one. That license belongs to the contractor, not to any single job, so the same license that qualifies someone to install a system is what qualifies them to repair your air conditioner.
Repairing your air conditioner usually means opening the refrigerant side of the system, and federal law requires whoever does that to hold an EPA Section 608 certification, no matter what state the work happens in. In North Carolina, that certification sits alongside the state license rather than in place of it.
Sources: North Carolina General Assembly · North Carolina State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler Contractors
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- The most common cause is a dirty air filter choking off airflow across the coil. When air can't move past the filter, the coil can ice up and the air coming out of your vents turns weak or warm. Low refrigerant from a leak is another common cause, but only a licensed technician can check refrigerant, since opening that part of the system requires an EPA Section 608 certification. If the filter looks clean and the vents are open, a contractor will need to check the coil and refrigerant level to find the actual cause.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Water around your AC usually means the condensate drain line is clogged. As your system runs, it pulls moisture out of the air and that water is supposed to drain outside through a small line. Algae and dirt build up in that line over time and block it, so the water backs up and drips or pools near the indoor unit instead. A frozen coil can cause the same thing when it thaws, so if you've noticed weak airflow along with the leak, both problems may be connected.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat and the breaker before assuming the worst. Check that the thermostat is set to cool and has power, then check the breaker panel for a tripped switch, since AC units draw a lot of current and can trip a breaker on startup. If those are fine, the issue is likely inside the unit, in the capacitor, the contactor, or the wiring, and that calls for a licensed contractor to open it up and diagnose it safely.