AC Repair in Scottsville, VA
Air conditioners here run from June through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Albemarle County will get in touch.
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Four months of hard running, then storms in between
Scottsville only asks for cooling from June through September, but those afternoons average 85°F. In that stretch your air conditioner runs long and hard to keep up, and the compressor and the fan motor take the wear from it. A unit that's been leaned on hard all summer is the one that quits when you need it most.
Albemarle County has also logged 268 damaging wind events and 25 hail events over the past ten years, with hail up to 2.5 inches. That kind of weather can bend the fins on your outdoor unit or crack the fan blades, and you may not notice until the system is straining to move air it can no longer move well.
- 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
- 268 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 Albemarle County home.
Estimates for a typical Albemarle 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 Board for Contractors licenses the contractor, not the individual repair. The state tests the contractor and keeps that license on record no matter how many jobs the contractor takes on. Work under $1,000 is the one exception. Virginia does not require a licensed contractor for a job that small.
An air conditioner repair means opening the refrigerant side of the system, and that takes EPA Section 608 certification. That certification comes from the federal government, not the state, and it applies to any technician touching refrigerant in any state. Where the job is over $1,000, the contractor's state license is what stands behind the work. Where it is not, the technician's federal certification is the protection this job has.
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 level is low from a leak. A dirty filter makes the evaporator coil freeze over, and once that happens the air coming out turns warm even though the system is running fine otherwise. Low refrigerant needs a licensed contractor, since only someone with EPA Section 608 certification is allowed to open that side of the system. Check the filter first. If it is clean and the air is still warm, the problem is inside the system and needs a diagnosis.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Water around your indoor unit usually means the condensate drain line is clogged. Your AC pulls a lot of moisture out of the air on a hot afternoon here, and that water is supposed to run out through a drain line to the outside. When the line clogs with algae or dirt, the water backs up and drips out near the unit instead. A frozen evaporator coil melting after the system shuts off can cause the same thing, so if it keeps happening it is worth having a contractor look at both the drain and the coil.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat batteries and the breaker before assuming the worst. A tripped breaker or dead thermostat batteries will stop your AC cold and both take two minutes to check. If those are fine, the issue could be the capacitor, which gives the compressor and fan motor the jolt they need to start. Summer storms here bring damaging wind fairly often, so a power surge is also worth considering if the trouble started right after a storm. A contractor can test the capacitor and the electrical components safely.