AC Repair in Richmond, VA
Air conditioners here run from May through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Richmond will get in touch.
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Five months of Richmond heat, every year
Your air conditioner works from May through September here, with summer afternoons averaging 87°F. That is five months of long runtimes, most days, to hold a house against that heat. The compressor and the condenser fan carry that load, cycling on and off for hours at a stretch through the hottest part of the day.
Richmond has also seen 15 damaging wind events and a couple of hail events over the past ten years. Wind can bend the thin fins on the condenser coil or knock debris into the unit outside, and either one makes the system work harder to move heat off that coil. If your air is running but the house is not cooling like it used to, or the outdoor unit sounds like it is straining, that is often where to look first.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 87°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 2 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 15 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new air conditioner would cut about $50 a year off cooling for a typical Richmond home.
Estimates for a typical Richmond 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 license belongs to the contractor, not to the job, so this repair falls under the same license that covers everything else that contractor does. Virginia makes one exception. Work under $1,000 does not need a licensed contractor, so a small repair can fall outside that requirement.
An air conditioner repair usually means opening the refrigerant side of the system, and that part is covered by a federal rule, not the state license. Any technician who opens the refrigerant side has to hold EPA Section 608 certification, in Virginia or anywhere else. That certification applies regardless of whether this particular repair happens to fall under the state's licensing requirement.
Sources: Virginia General Assembly · Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- Most often the filter is clogged and starving the system of airflow, or the refrigerant is low from a leak somewhere in the line. A dirty outdoor coil can cause the same thing, since it stops the unit from shedding heat properly. Check the filter first since that is the one thing you can rule out yourself. Anything involving refrigerant needs a technician with EPA 608 certification, since that is federal law for anyone opening that side of the system.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- The condensate drain line is probably clogged, which backs water up and sends it somewhere it should not go. This happens more in summer here since the system runs long hours from May through September and produces more condensation to drain. A dirty filter can also cause the coil to ice over, and water shows up when that ice melts. A contractor can clear the line or find the actual cause if it is not that simple.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Check the thermostat first, since a dead battery or a setting bumped off cool will stop the system before it ever starts. If that is not it, look at the breaker panel, since a tripped breaker will cut power to the unit entirely. Richmond has seen 15 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and that kind of weather can trip a breaker or damage the outdoor unit's wiring. If the thermostat and breaker are both fine, the problem is inside the unit and a contractor should take a look.