AC Repair in Lakeland, FL
Air conditioners here run from February through November. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Polk County will get in touch.
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Ten months of cooling in Lakeland heat
Your air conditioner runs from February through November here, and on summer afternoons it's working against a high near 92°F. That is most of the year with almost no break for the system to rest.
All those months of runtime add up on the compressor and the fan motor, the parts that carry the load every time the system cycles on. Polk County has also seen 37 damaging wind events and 28 hail events over the past ten years, with hail up to 2 inches. Wind can knock the outdoor unit's fan out of balance or drive debris into the coil, and hail can dent the fins or the cabinet enough to affect airflow. You notice it as a system that struggles to keep up on the hottest afternoons, or one that used to cool the house and suddenly doesn't.
- 10 months
- February through November, your air conditioner is on duty
- 92°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 28 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 37 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 Polk County home.
Estimates for a typical Polk County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Florida 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.
Florida requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The state license comes from Florida's Construction Industry Licensing Board, and it means the contractor was tested and is on record with the state, not that any particular job was inspected or signed off on. It covers the contractor as a whole, every job they take on, not this repair specifically.
For an air conditioner repair, that license is what stands behind the person doing the work. If the repair involves the refrigerant side of the system, the technician also has to hold EPA Section 608 certification, which is a federal rule that applies no matter what state you're in. Between the two, the state license accounts for who is allowed to do the work in Florida, and the federal certification accounts for who is allowed to handle the refrigerant itself.
Sources: Florida Legislature · Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- The most common cause is a dirty air filter choking off airflow, or a refrigerant leak that has dropped the charge too low to cool. A dirty outdoor coil can do the same thing, since it needs clear airflow to release the heat pulled from inside your home. With summer highs here averaging 92°F and cooling needed nearly year round, a system already low on refrigerant or fighting a clogged filter will struggle to keep up. A contractor can check the filter, the coil, and the refrigerant charge to find which one it is.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Water around your unit usually means the condensate drain line is clogged and backing up instead of draining outside. Algae and dirt build up in that line over time, especially with a system that runs most months of the year. A frozen evaporator coil can also cause this, since it drips water as it thaws. A contractor can clear the line or find the actual source of the leak.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat batteries and the breaker before assuming the worst. A tripped breaker, a blown fuse, or a thermostat set wrong can all keep the system from starting even though nothing is actually broken. If those check out, the capacitor or the contactor inside the outdoor unit may have failed, which is common after years of heavy use in a place that runs its AC most of the year. A licensed contractor can test the electrical components safely and tell you what failed.