AC Repair in Chester, PA
Air conditioners here run from June through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Delaware County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Four months of heavy use, every year
Your AC in Chester works hard for a short season. June through September, with afternoons averaging 85°F, the system runs long hours to keep up. That kind of steady demand wears on the compressor and the capacitor that helps start it, since those parts carry the load every time the unit cycles on.
Delaware County has also logged 166 damaging wind events and 20 hail events over the past ten years, with hail up to 1.5 inches. Wind can knock debris into the outdoor unit or rock it on its pad, and hail that size can dent the fins on the condenser coil. When the coil is damaged, the system loses its ability to shed heat, and you notice the air coming from the vents isn't as cold as it should be.
- 4 months
- June through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 85°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 20 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 166 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 Delaware County home.
Estimates for a typical Delaware 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 and gives you a record to check, but nobody tested this contractor's HVAC knowledge to get it. Pennsylvania also keeps cities and towns from layering their own license on top, so this registration is the only state or local paper behind whoever shows up at your door.
For a repair on your air conditioner, the certification that actually matters is federal. Anyone who opens the refrigerant side of your system, to fix a leak or recover and recharge it, has to hold EPA Section 608 certification, and that rule holds in every state including Pennsylvania. That certification is what says this person was trained to handle refrigerant safely, not the state registration.
Source: Pennsylvania General Assembly
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- Most of the time the filter is clogged and the coil behind it has frozen over, cutting off airflow. Turn the system off and let the coil thaw fully before you run it again, or you risk pushing water into places it shouldn't be. If the filter is clean and air is moving but it's not cold, the refrigerant charge is likely low, and that means a leak somewhere in the line. That's a repair for a licensed contractor, since refrigerant work isn't something to guess at.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- The condensate drain line is probably clogged. Your AC pulls a lot of moisture out of the air on a hot afternoon, 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 finds another way out, usually into the pan or onto the floor near the indoor unit. A frozen coil that's now thawing will do the same thing, so if the system was just blowing warm air before it started leaking, that's likely the cause.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it's set to cool and the temperature is actually below the room temperature, and if it runs on batteries, try fresh ones. If the thermostat looks fine, check the breaker for the outdoor unit, since a tripped breaker will stop the whole system cold. After 166 damaging wind events here over the past ten years, a tripped breaker after a storm is common enough that it's worth checking first. If the breaker is fine and the system still won't start, the problem is likely inside the unit and needs a contractor to look at it.