AC Repair in Pikeville, KY
Air conditioners here run from June through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Pike County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Four months of hard running in Pikeville summers
Your air conditioner only gets four months to do its job here, June through September, and it has to work through afternoons that average 85°F. That kind of steady heat means long run times day after day, with the compressor and the outdoor fan motor carrying the load for months at a stretch.
Pike County has also logged 125 damaging wind events and 25 hail events over the past ten years, with hail up to 2.75 inches. Wind can bend the fins on your outdoor unit or knock debris into it, and hail that size can dent the cabinet or damage the coil underneath. When that happens, you will notice weaker airflow, a system that runs longer than it used to, or one that will not cool the house at all.
- 4 months
- June through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 85°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 25 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 125 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new air conditioner would cut about $30 a year off cooling for a typical Pike County home.
Estimates for a typical Pike 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. That license belongs to the contractor, not the job, so it covers this repair the same as any other work that contractor takes on.
For an air conditioner repair, the part that matters most is the refrigerant line. Anyone who opens it, in Kentucky or any other state, has to hold EPA Section 608 certification. That certification is federal, separate from the state license, and it is what says the person handling the refrigerant was trained to do it without venting it into the air or leaving a bad connection behind.
Sources: Kentucky Legislative Research Commission · Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- The most common cause is a dirty air filter choking off airflow across the coil. When that happens the coil can ice over, and once it's iced up the air coming through the vents turns warm. Low refrigerant from a leak causes the same thing, but that's not something to check yourself, since opening the refrigerant side legally requires EPA 608 certification. A contractor can tell within a few minutes whether it's the filter, a frozen coil, or a charge issue.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Water around your unit almost always means the condensate line is clogged or the drain pan has rusted through. The line drains water pulled off the coil, and algae or dirt can block it over time, especially with four months of steady summer use here. A clogged line backs water up until it overflows the pan. A cracked or rusted pan just leaks straight through and needs to be replaced.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat and the breaker before anything else. A dead battery or a thermostat set to the wrong mode stops the system just as fast as a tripped breaker does. If both check out, the issue is likely inside the unit, a bad capacitor or a failed contactor are common reasons the system won't start even though power is reaching it. After 25 hail events and 125 damaging wind events here over the past ten years, it's also worth having a contractor check the outdoor unit for storm damage if the AC stopped working suddenly.