AC Repair in Tampa, FL
Air conditioners here run from March through November. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Hillsborough County will get in touch.
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Nine months of cooling in Hillsborough County heat
Your air conditioner runs from March through November here. On the afternoons that hit 91°F, it does not get a break between cycles, and the compressor and the fan motor take that load day after day.
Hillsborough County also sees its share of rough weather. Ten years of records show 63 damaging wind events and 13 hail storms, one with hail 3 inches across. Wind can rock or tilt the outdoor unit and bend the fan cage around it. Hail that size can dent the cabinet and flatten the fins on the condenser coil, and once those fins are crushed the coil cannot shed heat the way it should. You will notice it as warm air coming out of the vents, or a system that runs longer than it used to without cooling the house down.
- 9 months
- March through November, your air conditioner is on duty
- 91°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 13 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 63 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new air conditioner would cut about $80 a year off cooling for a typical Hillsborough County home.
Estimates for a typical Hillsborough 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.
That license is issued to the Construction Industry Licensing Board, and it covers the contractor, not each job. It's the person or company you hire that's licensed, not this specific repair.
For an air conditioner repair, that license is what backs the work. If the job involves opening the refrigerant side of the system, which most repairs do, whoever handles that part also has to hold EPA Section 608 certification. That's a federal requirement, the same in every state.
Sources: Florida Legislature · Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- Most often the filter is clogged and choking off airflow, or the system is low on refrigerant from a leak. A dirty outdoor coil can do it too, especially after months of running hard in the heat here. If the air coming out is warm rather than weak, check that the thermostat is set to cool and that the outdoor unit is actually running. A contractor can tell you which of these it is in a few minutes.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- The drain line is probably clogged. Your AC pulls a lot of moisture out of the air over the course of a summer, and that water has to go somewhere, usually through a small PVC line that algae and dirt can block over time. Once it's blocked, the water backs up and drips or pools near the indoor unit. A frozen evaporator coil that then thaws can cause the same thing. If you see ice on the coil or lines, turn the system off and let it thaw before calling anyone.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat batteries and the breaker before assuming the worst. A tripped breaker or a dead thermostat display is common and easy to miss. If those check out, the capacitor that starts the compressor may have failed. That happens more with age and with the heavy summer runtime homes here see nine months a year. A licensed contractor needs to test that part directly.