AC Repair in Hopkinsville, KY
Air conditioners here run from May through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Christian County will get in touch.
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Five months of Kentucky heat, every year
Your air conditioner runs May through September here. Summer afternoons average 87°F, and the unit works long hours with little break between one hot stretch and the next. That kind of run time wears on the compressor and the fan motor over the years.
Hopkinsville also gets hard weather. Ten years of records show 26 hail events and 106 damaging wind events in the area, with hail up to 1.75 inches. Hail dents the fins on the outdoor coil. Wind can knock the unit out of alignment or drive debris into it. Either way you tend to notice the same thing first. The air coming from the vents is not as cold as it used to be.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 87°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 26 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 106 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 Christian County home.
Estimates for a typical Christian 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.
Kentucky tests contractors through the Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction before it licenses them, and it keeps a record of who holds one. That license belongs to the contractor, not to any single job, so it stays in place from one repair to the next rather than being issued fresh each time.
For a repair like this, the license is what stands behind the person doing the work. Since an air conditioner repair almost always means opening the refrigerant side, whoever touches it also has to hold EPA Section 608 certification, the same federal rule that applies in every state. That certification covers the refrigerant itself. The state license covers the contractor doing the job.
Sources: Kentucky Legislative Research Commission · Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- Most of the time the filter is clogged and starving the system of airflow, or the refrigerant level is low from a leak somewhere in the line set. A dirty outdoor coil can cause the same problem because it stops the system from releasing heat. Check the filter first since that's the one thing you can rule out yourself. If it's clean and air still isn't cold, the refrigerant side needs a contractor with EPA Section 608 certification to open it up legally.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- The condensate drain line is probably clogged, which backs water up until it overflows the drain pan. This happens more in summer here since the system runs for months straight and algae or debris builds up inside the line. A frozen evaporator coil that's now thawing will cause the same puddle, usually tied to low refrigerant or restricted airflow. Either way, a contractor can clear the line or find what's freezing the coil.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Check the thermostat first, since dead batteries or a setting bumped to off will stop the system cold. If that's not it, a tripped breaker or a blown fuse at the outdoor unit is the next most common cause. Beyond that you're likely looking at a failed capacitor or contactor, parts that wear out from months of summer use. A licensed HVAC contractor can test which one it is.