AC Repair in Louisville, KY
Air conditioners here run from May through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Jefferson County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Five months of heat, and storms in between
Your air conditioner runs from May through September here. Summer afternoons average 86°F, and that means five straight months where the compressor runs hard most days. The strain shows up first in the capacitor or the contactor. When one of those wears out, the unit either won't start or runs without cooling the house.
Jefferson County has also seen 249 damaging wind events and 60 hail events over the past ten years, with hail up to 2 inches. Wind can knock the outdoor unit's cabinet loose or bend the fins that let it release heat. Hail that size can dent that cabinet or damage the coil underneath it. If your air conditioner started struggling right after a storm, tell the contractor who comes to look at it.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 86°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 60 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 249 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 Jefferson County home.
Estimates for a typical Jefferson 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 Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction issues that license, and it tests the contractor before granting it. What's on file is the contractor, not the job. So the license tells you this contractor was tested and is on record with the state, but it doesn't mean the state signs off on what happens at your house.
For a repair job like this one, the license is what backs the person doing the work. But if the repair involves opening the refrigerant side of your air conditioner, which most repairs do, federal law also requires the technician to hold EPA Section 608 certification. That's not a Kentucky rule. It applies everywhere, because refrigerant handling is federally regulated no matter which state you're in.
Sources: Kentucky Legislative Research Commission · Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- Usually it means the system is low on refrigerant or the airflow across the coil is blocked. A dirty filter or a coil crusted with ice will both stop cold air from reaching your vents. Low refrigerant means there's a leak somewhere, and that's a repair only a licensed contractor with EPA 608 certification can open the system to fix. Sometimes the fix is as simple as a new filter, so check that first.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Most often the condensate drain line is clogged and water is backing up instead of draining outside. It can also mean the coil has frozen and is now melting onto the floor or closet below the unit. A clogged line is a common repair. If the coil froze, something is blocking airflow, often a dirty filter, and that needs to be found before the leak will stop for good.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it's set to cool and the temperature is below the room temperature, and check the batteries if it has a screen that looks dim. If the thermostat looks fine, check the breaker box, since a tripped breaker will keep the whole system dead. If the breaker is fine and it still won't start, the problem is inside the unit and a licensed contractor will need to diagnose it.