AC Repair in Hilton Head Island, SC
Air conditioners here run from May through October. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Beaufort County will get in touch.
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Six months of heat, and the storms in between
Your air conditioner runs from May through October here, six months of pushing against afternoons that average 89°F. That kind of stretch doesn't let a system rest. The compressor cycles on and on through the hottest part of the day, and the parts that keep it running, the capacitor, the contactor, wear down faster with that much work asked of them.
Beaufort County has also logged 304 damaging wind events and 20 hail events over the past ten years, with hail up to 2 inches. Wind can knock debris into the outdoor unit or twist the fan cage. Hail that size can dent the coil fins that let the unit shed heat. When that coil is damaged, the system struggles to cool even when everything else is working right, and you notice it as air that isn't as cold as it should be, or a unit that runs longer to get there.
- 6 months
- May through October, your air conditioner is on duty
- 89°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 20 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 304 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new air conditioner would cut about $70 a year off cooling for a typical Beaufort County home.
Estimates for a typical Beaufort 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?
- Most often the filter is clogged enough that airflow across the coil has dropped, or the refrigerant level is low from a leak. A dirty filter you can check yourself, but low refrigerant means there's a leak somewhere in the line and that takes a contractor to find and seal. With summer afternoons here running around 89°F, a system that's low on refrigerant will struggle for hours instead of keeping up, so it's worth having it looked at soon rather than waiting.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- The drain line that carries condensation away from the coil is clogged, or the drain pan has rusted through. Algae and dust build up inside that line over a cooling season and eventually block it, so the water backs up and finds another way out. A contractor can clear the line or replace the pan, depending on which one it is.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Check the thermostat batteries and the breaker first, since those cause more no-start calls than anything wrong with the unit itself. If both check out, the capacitor that starts the compressor may have failed, which is common after years of heavy use and won't fix itself. Six months of cooling a year here puts real hours on that part, so a contractor testing it is the next step.