AC Repair in Allentown, PA
Air conditioners here run from June through August. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Lehigh County will get in touch.
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Three months of heat, hard on the whole system
Allentown only asks its air conditioners to work June through August, but those afternoons average 83°F, and the system has to catch up fast whenever it gets the call. That kind of stop-and-go cycling puts real strain on the compressor and the run capacitor that keeps it starting smoothly. When the capacitor weakens, the outdoor unit hums but the fan won't turn, or the whole thing kicks off on its own in the middle of the afternoon.
Lehigh County has also logged 211 damaging wind events and 41 hail storms over the past ten years, some with hail up to 2 inches across. Wind can rock the outdoor unit on its pad and work its refrigerant lines loose, and hail that size dents the condenser coil's thin fins. Once those fins are crushed, the coil can't shed heat the way it should, and the air coming out of your vents turns warm on the hottest days of the year.
- 3 months
- June through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 83°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 41 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 211 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new air conditioner would save little on running costs in Lehigh County, so the repair decision comes down to the unit's condition.
Estimates for a typical Lehigh County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Pennsylvania 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.
Pennsylvania requires contractors to register with the state.
That registration puts the business on file with the state, along with its owner and contact information. Nobody tested the contractor's HVAC knowledge to get that number, and Pennsylvania does not layer a trade exam or a license on top of it. Lehigh County and its municipalities cannot require their own HVAC license either, so the state registration is the only record that exists here.
For a repair on your air conditioner, the protection that matters comes from a different place. Any technician who opens the refrigerant lines to work on the compressor or coil has to hold EPA Section 608 certification, a federal requirement that applies no matter what state you're in. That certification is the credential to look for on this job, since Pennsylvania's own registration doesn't test for it.
Source: Pennsylvania General Assembly
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- Most of the time the filter is clogged and starving the system of airflow. Check it first, since a dirty filter can ice up the coil and turn warm air into a trickle. If the filter is clean, the refrigerant level could be low, which points to a leak that a contractor needs to find and repair. It could also be a failing capacitor or compressor, and those need a licensed contractor to diagnose.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- The drain line that carries condensation away from your AC is probably clogged. That line runs from the indoor coil to a drain, and algae or dirt can block it over time, which sends water back into the house instead of outside. A dirty filter can also cause this by freezing the coil, which then drips as it thaws. A contractor can clear the line and check the coil to be sure that's the whole problem.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with your thermostat. Check that it's set to cool and the temperature is below room temperature, and check the batteries if it has a screen that's dim or blank. If the thermostat looks fine, check your breaker panel, since a tripped breaker will keep the whole system from starting. If the breaker is fine and it still won't turn on, the problem is likely inside the unit and needs a contractor to look at it.