AC Repair in Orangeburg, SC
Air conditioners here run from May through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Orangeburg County will get in touch.
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Five months of hard running in Orangeburg heat
Your air conditioner works May through September here, with afternoons averaging 91°F. That means long run times, day after day, with little rest between cycles. The compressor and the fan motor take the brunt of it, and a unit that runs low on refrigerant or has a dirty condenser coil has to work harder in that heat to keep up. You notice it as a system that runs longer but cools less, or air coming out of the vents that is not as cold as it used to be.
Orangeburg has also seen 177 damaging wind events and 33 hail events over the past ten years, with hail up to 1.75 inches. Wind can bend the thin fins on the outdoor condenser or knock debris into it, and hail that size can dent the cabinet or damage the fins enough to block airflow. If your system started acting up after a storm, that is worth mentioning when a contractor looks at it.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 91°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 33 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 177 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 Orangeburg County home.
Estimates for a typical Orangeburg 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. A refrigerant leak will also do this, and it will not get better on its own since the system needs to be found and sealed before it's recharged. If the outdoor unit is caked with dirt or the coils are frozen over, the system can't shed heat properly either. With summer afternoons here regularly hitting 91°F, a system that's low on refrigerant or short on airflow struggles even more to keep up.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Most often the condensate drain line is clogged and water is backing up instead of draining outside. It can also mean the drain pan has rusted through, or the coil has frozen and is now melting and overflowing as it thaws. A dirty filter can cause that freeze-up too, since it restricts the airflow the coil needs to stay above freezing. Leave it alone and the water can damage the floor or ceiling below the unit.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it has power, is set to cool, and the temperature is actually set below the room temperature. If the thermostat looks fine, the issue could be a tripped breaker, a blown fuse at the outdoor unit, or a safety switch that's shut the system down. With 177 damaging wind events recorded here over the past ten years, it's also worth checking the outdoor unit for storm damage to the wiring or the disconnect box.