AC Repair in Henderson, KY
Air conditioners here run from May through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Henderson County will get in touch.
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Five months of Henderson County summer heat adds up
From May through September your air conditioner runs most days, and on afternoons near 87°F it runs long stretches at a time. That kind of steady load wears on the capacitor and the contactor, the parts that get the compressor started and keep it cycling. When one of those goes, the outdoor unit hums but won't start, or it kicks off on its own before the house cools down.
Henderson County also sees its share of hail and wind, 9 hail events and 82 damaging wind events over the past ten years. A hailstone or a branch can bend the fins on the outdoor coil, and once those fins are crushed the coil can't shed heat the way it should. You'll notice the air coming from your vents isn't as cold as it used to be, even though the system sounds like it's working fine.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 87°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 9 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 82 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 Henderson County home.
Estimates for a typical Henderson County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Kentucky 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.
Kentucky requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license comes from the Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction, and the state tested the contractor before handing it out. It covers the contractor as a whole, not the specific job at your house, so it tells you this person is on record with the state and met its standard to do the work.
For a repair like this, the license is what backs the person doing the work. If the job involves opening the refrigerant side of your air conditioner, whoever does that also has to hold EPA Section 608 certification, which is a federal requirement in every state and separate from the Kentucky license. Between the two, the parts of the job that matter, the wiring and refrigerant, are both accounted for.
Sources: Kentucky Legislative Research Commission · Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- Most often the refrigerant is low, which means there is a leak somewhere in the system. It can also mean the evaporator coil has iced over, usually because airflow is blocked by a dirty filter or a fan problem. A dirty condenser coil outside can cause the same thing, since the unit can't get rid of the heat it's pulling from your house. In Henderson summers that push past 87°F, a system already struggling to keep up will feel it fast. Anyone who opens the refrigerant side to check for a leak has to hold EPA 608 certification, so this is a call for a licensed contractor.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- The condensate drain line is probably clogged. Your AC pulls moisture out of the air as it cools your home, and that water is supposed to run out through this line to a drain outside. When it clogs with dirt or algae, the water backs up and finds another way out, often dripping near the indoor unit. A frozen evaporator coil that then thaws can cause the same kind of water, so the fix depends on which one it is.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Check the thermostat first, since a dead battery or a setting knocked out of place will stop the system cold. If that's not it, look at your breaker panel, since a tripped breaker cuts power to the whole unit. Beyond that it could be a bad capacitor, a failed contactor, or a safety switch that's shutting the system down on purpose to protect it. A licensed contractor can tell which one it is and repair it under Kentucky's HVAC licensing rules.