AC Repair in Florence, SC
Air conditioners here run from May through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Florence County will get in touch.
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Five months of Florence heat wears an AC down fast
Your air conditioner runs from May through September here, and on the afternoons it works hardest, it is pushing against 90°F heat for hours at a stretch. That kind of runtime adds up on the parts that keep the system going, the capacitor, the contactor, the compressor itself. A weak capacitor can't get the compressor started, and the unit hums but never kicks on.
Florence County has also seen 97 damaging wind events and 11 hail storms over the past ten years, with hail up to 2 inches. Wind can bend the fins on your outdoor unit or knock debris into it, and hail dents the coil and housing enough to affect airflow. If your AC is struggling to keep up or making noise it didn't before, one of these is often why.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 90°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 11 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 97 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 Florence County home.
Estimates for a typical Florence 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 cause is a dirty air filter choking off airflow, so check that first since it is the easiest to fix. If the filter is clean, the refrigerant charge could be low, which usually means a leak somewhere in the line. A dirty outdoor condenser coil covered in dirt or grass clippings can also stop the system from releasing heat properly. With five months of cooling ahead and afternoons hitting 90°F, a system running low on refrigerant will struggle to keep up, so it is worth having a contractor check it soon.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Water around your AC usually means the condensate drain line is clogged with algae or dirt and the water is backing up instead of draining outside. It can also mean the drain pan has rusted through or cracked. Sometimes a dirty air filter or low refrigerant causes the evaporator coil to freeze up, and the water shows up when that ice melts. A contractor can flush the line or replace the pan depending on what they find.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with your thermostat. Check that it has power, the batteries are good, and it is set to cool at a temperature below the room's current reading. If the thermostat looks fine, a tripped breaker or a blown fuse at the outdoor unit is a common next cause. A failed capacitor can also keep the compressor from starting even though the rest of the system has power. A contractor can test the capacitor and the electrical connections to find out which one it is.