AC Repair in Leesburg, VA
Air conditioners here run from June through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Loudoun County will get in touch.
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Four months of hard work in Leesburg heat
Your air conditioner in Leesburg gets four months to do its job, June through September, and it runs hard the whole time. Afternoons averaging 85°F mean the compressor is under load for hours at a stretch, day after day. That kind of steady demand is what wears out a capacitor or pushes a weak compressor into shutting itself down on the hottest afternoons.
Loudoun County has also seen 279 damaging wind events and 62 hail events over the past ten years, with hail up to 3 inches. Wind can knock debris into the outdoor unit and bend the fins that let it shed heat. Hail that size can dent the cabinet or damage the coil underneath. If your air conditioner started struggling right after a storm, that is often why.
- 4 months
- June through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 85°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 62 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 279 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 Loudoun County home.
Estimates for a typical Loudoun County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Virginia 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.
Virginia requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The state tested this contractor and keeps a record of them before they can take the job, and that license stays tied to the contractor rather than to any one repair. If the repair on your air conditioner comes to less than $1,000, Virginia does not require the contractor doing it to be licensed at all.
A license covers who is allowed to run the business and take the job, but the refrigerant side of your air conditioner is checked by a separate federal rule. Any technician who opens that side of the system, to recover refrigerant or get to a failed part, has to hold EPA Section 608 certification, and that applies whether the job in Loudoun County is licensed or falls under the $1,000 mark.
Sources: Virginia General Assembly · Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- The most common reason is a dirty air filter choking off airflow, or the outdoor unit's coil caked with dirt so it can't shed heat. Low refrigerant from a leak will also do this, and that's a repair only an EPA-certified technician can touch since it means opening the refrigerant side of the system. If the air coming out feels warm or barely moving, check the filter first. If it's clean, the system needs a contractor to look at the coil and refrigerant charge.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Usually the condensate drain line is clogged, and water that should run outside is backing up into the house. It can also mean the evaporator coil has frozen over, which happens when airflow is blocked or refrigerant is low, and the water shows up once it thaws. A dirty filter is often behind both problems, so that's worth checking before anything else. If the filter looks fine and water keeps showing up, the drain line or the coil needs a look.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat, since a dead battery or a setting knocked off cool will stop the system cold. After that, check the breaker for the AC, since a tripped one is a common cause after a storm. If the thermostat is set right and the breaker is fine, the problem is likely inside the unit itself, in the capacitor or the contactor, and that calls for a licensed contractor to diagnose.