AC Repair in Pittsburgh, PA
Air conditioners here run from June through August. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Allegheny County will get in touch.
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It takes about a minute.
Three months of heat, then storms the rest of the year
Your air conditioner in Allegheny County only has to work June through August, but on those 82°F afternoons it runs hard to keep the house cool. A unit that sits unused most of the year and then gets pushed every day in summer heat is the one where a weak capacitor or a low refrigerant charge finally shows itself. You notice it as the house not quite reaching the temperature you set, or the unit running longer than it used to.
The storm record here matters too. Allegheny County has seen 548 damaging wind events and 115 hail events over the past ten years, with hail up to 2 inches. Wind can bend or knock loose the fins and panels on the outdoor unit, and hail that size can dent the cabinet or damage the coil fins, cutting down on airflow right when the unit needs it most.
- 3 months
- June through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 82°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 115 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 548 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 Allegheny County, so the repair decision comes down to the unit's condition.
Estimates for a typical Allegheny 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 trade knowledge to get it, and no state exam stands behind the name on your invoice. Allegheny County can't add its own license requirement on top of this, so the registration is the same across the state no matter where you live.
For a repair on your air conditioner, the credential that actually matters is federal. Anyone who opens the refrigerant side of your system, to recover it, recharge it, or fix a leak, has to hold EPA Section 608 certification, and that rule holds in every state including this one. That certification is what says a technician was tested on handling refrigerant safely, which the state registration never touches.
Source: Pennsylvania General Assembly
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- The most common reason is a dirty air filter choking off airflow across the coil. When air can't move through the system, the coil can ice over and what comes out of the vents turns warm. A low refrigerant charge from a leak causes the same problem, and so does a compressor that's failing. Check the filter first, and if it's clean, the system needs a contractor to check the charge and the compressor.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Your AC pulls moisture out of the air as it crosses the cold coil, and that water is supposed to drain out through a condensate line. Water shows up where it shouldn't when that line clogs with algae or debris, when the drain pan cracks, or when the coil ices up and then melts faster than the line can carry the water away. A clogged line is the most common cause, and a contractor can clear it.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it's set to cool and set below the room temperature, and that its batteries aren't dead. If the thermostat looks right, check the breaker, since a tripped breaker will cut power to the whole system. A breaker that keeps tripping points to a wiring or component problem a contractor needs to look at.