AC Repair in Newport News, VA
Air conditioners here run from May through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Newport News will get in touch.
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Five months of heat wears on your AC
Your air conditioner runs from May through September in Newport News, and on the afternoons that hit 87°F it doesn't get a break. The compressor stays under load hour after hour, and the capacitor that helps start it takes the strain each time the unit cycles on. When one of these wears out, the outdoor unit hums but won't start, or it shuts off on its own before the house cools.
Storms add to the load. The area has seen 31 damaging wind events over the past ten years, enough to bend the fins on an outdoor coil or knock loose a wire, and hail has fallen large enough to dent a cabinet. After a bad storm it's worth having the outdoor unit checked even if it still seems to be running.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 87°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 10 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 31 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new air conditioner would cut about $60 a year off cooling for a typical Newport News home.
Estimates for a typical Newport News 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.
Virginia's Board for Contractors tests the contractor and keeps a record of the license before anyone can use it. That license belongs to the business, not to the person standing in your driveway, and it does not get reissued job by job. If the repair on your air conditioner comes to under $1,000, Virginia does not require a licensed contractor at all.
An air conditioner repair almost always means opening the refrigerant side of the system, and that work needs EPA Section 608 certification no matter what state you're in. That certification is federal, not a Virginia license, and it covers the person handling the refrigerant rather than the business that employs them.
Sources: Virginia General Assembly · Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- Most often it is low refrigerant from a slow leak, or a dirty filter choking airflow across the coil. When airflow drops too low, the coil can ice over, and once that happens you get weak or warm air until the ice melts. A contractor with EPA Section 608 certification will need to check refrigerant levels, since opening the sealed system requires that certification under federal law. If the filter is clogged, that is worth checking first since it costs nothing to look.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- The condensate drain line is probably clogged. Algae and dirt build up in that line over time, and once it is blocked the water backs up and finds another way out, usually dripping near the indoor unit. A frozen coil that is now thawing will cause the same thing, so if the system was also blowing weak air before the leak started, that is likely the cause.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Check the thermostat batteries and the breaker first, since both are common and easy to rule out. If those are fine, the issue is likely in the electrical components inside the unit, like a failed capacitor or contactor, and those need a licensed contractor to diagnose safely. A tripped breaker that trips again right after resetting means the system is drawing too much current somewhere and should not be forced back on.