AC Repair in Jacksonville, NC
Air conditioners here run from May through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Onslow County will get in touch.
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Five months of Jacksonville heat wears on your AC
From May through September your air conditioner runs almost every day, working against summer afternoons that average 88°F. That kind of steady load adds up on the compressor and the fan motor, the parts that run longest to keep the house cool. When one of them starts to fail, you notice the air isn't as cold as it should be, or the unit runs longer to get the house to temperature.
Onslow County also sees its share of hail and wind. Ten years of storm records show 18 hail events and 68 damaging wind events, with hail up to 1.5 inches. That kind of weather can bend the fins on your outdoor unit or damage the fan, so it's worth a look after a bad storm even if the system still seems to run.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 88°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 18 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 68 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 Onslow County home.
Estimates for a typical Onslow 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.
That license is issued to the contractor's business, not to each separate job, so the same license stands behind your repair no matter its size. It comes from the State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler Contractors, the body North Carolina uses to license this trade.
Repairing an air conditioner usually means opening the refrigerant side of the system, and federal law requires that whoever does that hold EPA Section 608 certification, in North Carolina and every other state. Here that certification sits alongside the state license rather than instead of it. The license covers the contractor doing the work. The certification covers the person 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?
- The most common reason is low refrigerant from a leak somewhere in the coil or line set. It can also mean the outdoor unit's compressor has failed, or the air filter is so clogged that airflow across the indoor coil has dropped off. A dirty evaporator coil will do the same thing, since ice can build up on it and block airflow. Only a technician with EPA Section 608 certification can legally open the refrigerant side to check the charge and find the leak, so this one needs a licensed contractor either way.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Most of the time this is a clogged condensate drain line, where algae and dirt build up inside the pipe until water backs up and drips out. It can also mean the drain pan has rusted through, or the evaporator coil has frozen and is now melting onto the floor as it thaws. A coil freezes when airflow is restricted, often from a dirty filter, so check that first. If the filter looks fine and the leak continues, a contractor will need to look at the drain line and the coil itself.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat batteries and the breaker before assuming the worst. A tripped breaker, a blown fuse, or a thermostat that's lost power will all keep the system from starting even though nothing is actually broken. If the breaker keeps tripping when you reset it, that points to an electrical fault in the unit itself, and it should stay off until a contractor checks it. With 68 damaging wind events recorded here over the past ten years, a tripped breaker after a storm is worth checking first.