AC Repair in Cookeville, TN
Air conditioners here run from May through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Putnam County will get in touch.
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Five months of Cookeville summer heat adds up
Your air conditioner works May through September here, with afternoons averaging 85°F. That is five straight months of the compressor cycling on and off to keep the house cool. The compressor and the fan motor run the whole time the unit is on, and that steady work is what wears them out. When one of them gives out, the system keeps running but the air stops getting cold.
Putnam County has also seen 33 hail events and 81 damaging wind events over the past ten years, with hail as large as 3 inches. Hail that size can bend the thin fins on the outdoor unit's coil. Wind can drive branches and debris into it too. Once those fins are crushed down, the coil cannot shed heat the way it needs to, and the system loses its ability to cool the house.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 85°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 33 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 81 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 Putnam County home.
Estimates for a typical Putnam County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Tennessee 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.
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- The most common cause is a dirty air filter cutting off airflow across the coil, or the coil itself iced over because of that lost airflow. Low refrigerant from a leak is another common cause, and that one needs a contractor to fix since it means opening the system. Check the filter first. If it is clean and air is still coming out warm, the system needs a look from someone with gauges.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Water around your indoor unit usually means the condensate drain line is clogged. Warm summer air pulls a lot of moisture out as the system runs, and that water has to drain out through a small line that can fill with algae or dirt over time. When it backs up, the water finds another way out, often onto the floor near the unit. A contractor can clear the line and check that it is draining the way it should.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat. Check the batteries and make sure it is set to cool and set below the room temperature. If the thermostat looks fine, check your breaker panel, since a tripped breaker will shut the whole system down with no warning. Cookeville sees its share of damaging wind and hail each year, and a power blip during a storm can trip a breaker even when nothing else is wrong. If the breaker is fine and the system still won't start, it needs a contractor to check the electrical components.