AC Repair in Dover, DE
Air conditioners here run from June through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Kent County will get in touch.
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Four months of hard running in Dover heat
Your air conditioner works June through September here, with summer afternoons averaging 85°F. That means long run times, day after day, with the compressor and the fan motor carrying the load for months straight without much of a break.
Kent County also sees its share of rough weather. Ten years of records show 120 damaging wind events and 12 hail storms in the area. Wind can knock debris into the outdoor unit or rock it on its pad, and hail can dent the fins on the coil outside. When the fins are bent shut, the unit can't shed heat the way it should, and you'll notice the air coming out warmer than it used to, especially in the afternoon.
- 4 months
- June through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 85°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 12 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 120 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new air conditioner would cut about $40 a year off cooling for a typical Kent County home.
Estimates for a typical Kent County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Delaware 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.
Delaware requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license is issued to the contractor, not to each job, so it belongs to the person or business you hire, not to your air conditioner repair specifically. Delaware's Board of Plumbing, Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Examiners tests and records the contractors it licenses, so a license number is a record you can trace back to the state.
For your repair, the license is what stands behind the contractor's name, but the refrigerant work itself falls under a separate federal rule. Anyone who opens the refrigerant side of your air conditioner has to hold EPA Section 608 certification, and that is true whether the repair happens in Delaware or anywhere else in the country.
Sources: Delaware Code Online · Delaware Division of Professional Regulation
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- The most common cause is a dirty air filter choking off airflow, so start there. A clogged filter starves the coil of air, and the coil can ice over, which cuts cooling even more. Low refrigerant from a leak is another common cause, and that will need a contractor to find the leak and recharge it. If the filter looks clean and air is moving but it just isn't cold, the compressor itself may have failed.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Water around your indoor unit usually means the condensate drain line is clogged. Algae and dirt build up in that line over a summer of running, and once it backs up the water has nowhere to go but out. A dirty filter can also cause this, since it lets the coil ice over, and the water shows up when that ice melts. Either way, the fix is clearing the line or the airflow problem behind it, not just wiping up the water.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Check the thermostat first, since dead batteries or a setting knocked off cool will stop the system before it even starts. If the thermostat looks fine, check the breaker, since a tripped breaker cuts power to the whole unit. Outdoor units also have a shutoff switch nearby that can get bumped or left off. If power is reaching the unit and it still won't start, the capacitor or the compressor itself may be the problem, and that calls for a contractor to test it.