AC Repair in Charlotte, NC
Air conditioners here run from May through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Mecklenburg County will get in touch.
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Five months of Charlotte heat wears an AC down fast
Your air conditioner runs from May through September here, and on afternoons that hit 88°F it doesn't get much of a break. That kind of steady demand wears on the compressor and the capacitor that helps start it. When the capacitor weakens, the outdoor unit hums but the fan won't spin, or the whole system trips off before the house cools.
Mecklenburg County has also seen 122 damaging wind events and 38 hail events over the past ten years, with hail up to 1.75 inches. Wind can bend the thin fins on the outdoor coil, and hail dents them further. Bent fins block airflow across the coil, so the unit works harder and cools less.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 88°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 38 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 122 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 Mecklenburg County home.
Estimates for a typical Mecklenburg 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 license is issued to the contractor, not to each job, so the same license covers the diagnosis, the parts, and the labor on your air conditioner. The State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler Contractors is the body that tested and licensed them, and their name stays on record with the state whether the job is a repair or a full installation.
Because your air conditioner has a sealed refrigerant system, whoever opens it also needs EPA Section 608 certification, the federal rule that applies to that work in every state. In North Carolina that certification sits alongside the state license rather than replacing it, so the contractor working on your unit is answerable on both counts, the state for the work overall and the EPA for anyone handling the refrigerant itself.
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?
- Most often the filter is clogged and starving the system of airflow, or the refrigerant level is low from a leak. A dirty filter makes the coil so cold it ices over, and once that happens the air coming out turns warm instead of cold. Low refrigerant means a leak somewhere in the lines, and that needs a licensed contractor to find and fix, since only someone with EPA Section 608 certification is allowed to open that side of the system.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Water around your AC usually means the condensate drain line is clogged. Your system pulls a lot of moisture out of the air, especially on the 88°F afternoons that come with summer here, and that water is supposed to run out through a drain line to the outside. When the line clogs with algae or dirt, the water backs up and drips inside instead. A clogged drain is a common repair, but a contractor should also check that the drain pan itself hasn't cracked or rusted through.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Check your thermostat first. Make sure it's set to cool and set below the room temperature, and check that it has fresh batteries if it uses them. If the thermostat looks right, the next place to look is your breaker panel, since a tripped breaker will shut the whole system down. If the breaker keeps tripping after you reset it, stop resetting it and have a licensed contractor look at the system, since that usually points to an electrical fault rather than something you can fix by flipping a switch.