AC Repair in Seneca, SC
Air conditioners here run from May through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Oconee County will get in touch.
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Five months of Seneca heat, and the storms in between
Your air conditioner works from May through September here, with summer afternoons averaging 87°F. That is five straight months of the compressor and condenser fan running long hours to keep up. Long runtimes like that wear on the capacitor and the contactor, the parts that get the compressor started and keep it running, and a weak one shows up as a unit that hums but won't start or that cuts out on the hottest part of the afternoon.
Oconee County has also logged 92 damaging wind events and 37 hail events over the past ten years, with hail up to 1.25 inches. Wind can bend the thin fins on your outdoor coil or pelt it with debris, and either one blocks airflow the unit needs to cool properly. Hail that size can dent the cabinet or damage the fan blade. After a storm like that, listen for new rattling or grinding from the outdoor unit, or watch for the house not cooling like it used to.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 87°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 37 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 92 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 Oconee County home.
Estimates for a typical Oconee 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 across the coil. When that happens the coil can ice up and stop cooling the air passing through it. A low refrigerant charge from a leak will do the same thing, and so will a failing compressor. Check the filter first. If it is clean and the air still is not cold, a contractor will need to check the refrigerant charge and the compressor.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Your AC makes water as it cools the air, and that water is supposed to drain outside through the condensate line. When that line clogs with algae or dirt, the water backs up and finds its way into the house instead. A dirty air filter can also cause this, since restricted airflow lets the coil ice over, and the water floods out when it thaws. A contractor can clear the line and check the coil.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat, since dead batteries or a setting knocked off cool will stop the system before it even tries to run. Next check the breaker, since a tripped breaker cuts power to the whole unit. Seneca sees enough damaging wind and hail to knock out power or rattle a breaker loose, so after a storm that is worth checking first. If the thermostat and breaker are fine and it still will not start, a contractor will need to check the capacitor or the compressor itself.