AC Repair in Jackson, TN
Air conditioners here run from May through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Madison County will get in touch.
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Five months of Jackson heat wears on your AC
From May through September your air conditioner runs most days, and on the afternoons that hit 89°F it runs close to nonstop. That kind of stretch puts real hours on the compressor and the fan motor, the parts that carry the load whenever the unit is on. A capacitor that's been weakening for a while often fails right in the middle of a run like that, and the system just stops cooling.
Madison County has also seen 45 damaging wind events and 40 hail events over the past ten years, with hail up to 2.5 inches. Outdoor units sit exposed to all of that. Hail can bend the thin fins on the outdoor coil, and wind-blown debris can do the same or knock loose a wire or panel. Either way, you'll notice it as warm air coming through the vents or the outdoor unit running rough.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 89°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 40 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 45 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new air conditioner would cut about $50 a year off cooling for a typical Madison County home.
Estimates for a typical Madison 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 choking off airflow across the coil. When the filter is clogged, the coil can ice up and the air coming through the vents turns weak and warm. Low refrigerant from a leak causes the same thing, but that needs a contractor to check with gauges. If the outdoor unit is running but the air inside is not cold, shut the system off so the coil can thaw before anyone looks at it.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Most of the time this is a clogged condensate drain line. Your AC pulls a lot of moisture out of the air on a 89°F afternoon, and that water has to drain out through a small tube. Algae or dirt can block that tube, and the water backs up and drips or pools near the indoor unit. A frozen coil can also cause a leak once it thaws, usually from restricted airflow or low refrigerant.
- 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. If the thermostat looks right, check the breaker, since a tripped breaker is common and easy to miss. If the breaker keeps tripping when you reset it, or the thermostat is fine and nothing happens, the problem is inside the unit and a contractor will need to look at it.