AC Repair in Murrysville, PA
Air conditioners here run from June through August. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Westmoreland County will get in touch.
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Three months of hard running, then storms
Your air conditioner in Murrysville gets three months of real work, June through August, with afternoons averaging 81°F. That is a short season, but the unit runs hard through it, and the outdoor coil and fan motor carry that load every one of those afternoons.
Westmoreland County has logged 441 damaging wind events and 59 hail events over the past ten years, with hail up to 2 inches. Wind can bend the thin fins on the outdoor coil, and hail that size can dent the cabinet or damage the fan blade. If your air conditioner is blowing warm air or the outdoor unit is making a new noise after a storm, that is often where to look first.
- 3 months
- June through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 81°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 59 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 441 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 Westmoreland County, so the repair decision comes down to the unit's condition.
Estimates for a typical Westmoreland 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 Bureau of Consumer Protection. Nobody tests the contractor's skills to get on that list, and the state does not hold a trade license behind it. Because Pennsylvania sets this rule, cities and towns across the state, including here in Westmoreland County, cannot layer their own HVAC license on top of it. The registration is the same wherever you are in the state.
For a repair on your air conditioner, the registration is not what stands behind the technician's hands-on work. Any technician who opens the refrigerant side of your system, which most AC repairs require, has to hold EPA Section 608 certification, and that rule applies the same way in every state. That federal certification, not the state registration, is what says this person is trained to handle refrigerant safely.
Source: Pennsylvania General Assembly
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- Most of the time the filter is dirty enough to choke off airflow across the coil, and the coil ices up instead of cooling. Low refrigerant from a leak does the same thing, and once ice forms, the air coming out feels warm even though the system is running. If the filter looks clean and you still get warm air, the problem is likely refrigerant or the compressor, and that calls for a contractor with gauges to check it.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- The condensate line is probably clogged. Your AC pulls a lot of moisture out of the air during those summer afternoons here, and that water is supposed to drain out through a small line to the outside. Algae and dirt build up in that line over time and block it, so the water backs up and drips inside instead. A dirty, iced-over coil can also drip once it melts, which points to an airflow problem rather than the drain line.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Check the thermostat first. Dead batteries or a setting bumped to off or to heat will stop the system cold, and it's the most common reason nothing happens at all. If the thermostat looks right, check the breaker, since outdoor units trip breakers during storms, and Murrysville sees its share of damaging wind. If the breaker is fine and it still won't start, the capacitor or the compressor itself may have failed, and that's a job for a licensed contractor.