AC Repair in Columbia, SC
Air conditioners here run from May through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Richland County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Five months of Columbia heat wears an AC down
From May through September your air conditioner runs almost every day, and on afternoons that hit 91°F it runs hard. That kind of stretch puts real hours on the compressor and the fan motor, the two parts doing the actual work of moving heat out of your house. When one of them starts to go, you notice the air isn't as cold as it should be, or the unit runs longer than it used to just to hold the temperature.
Richland County also sees its share of hail and wind, 49 hail events and 360 damaging wind events over the past ten years. Hail up to 1.75 inches can bend the thin fins on the outdoor coil, and a bent coil makes the whole system work harder to do the same job.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 91°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 49 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 360 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new air conditioner would cut about $60 a year off cooling for a typical Richland County home.
Estimates for a typical Richland County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, South 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.
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- The most common reason is a dirty air filter choking off airflow, so the coil can't pull enough heat out of the air. Low refrigerant from a leak is another common cause, and it won't fix itself since the system doesn't burn refrigerant off over time. With summer afternoons here regularly hitting 91°F, a unit that's low on refrigerant or short on airflow will struggle most in the heat of the day. A contractor can check the filter, the coil, and the refrigerant charge to find which one it is.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Your AC makes condensation as it cools the air, and that water normally drains out through a condensate line. If that line is clogged, the water backs up and drips or pools near the indoor unit. A frozen coil that's thawing out can also leave water where you don't expect it, usually from restricted airflow or low refrigerant. Either way, the leak points to a specific problem worth having a contractor look at, since standing water can damage flooring or drywall.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it has power, is set to cool, and the setting is below the current room temperature. If the thermostat looks fine, check the breaker, since a tripped breaker will keep the whole system from starting. With 360 damaging wind events recorded here over the past ten years, outdoor units can take a hit that trips a breaker or damages a wire, so it's worth having a contractor check the outdoor unit itself if the thermostat and breaker both check out.