AC Repair in Huntington, WV
Air conditioners here run from June through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Cabell County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Four months of hard running, and hail on top of it
Your air conditioner in Cabell County works hard for a short stretch. June through September, with summer afternoons averaging 86°F, the compressor runs long hours trying to keep up. That kind of steady load wears on the compressor and the capacitor that helps start it, and when one of those goes, the unit either won't start or runs without cooling.
The outdoor unit also sits outside through some rough weather. The last ten years brought 20 hail events and 71 damaging wind events to the area, with hail up to 1.75 inches recorded. Hail that size can bend the thin aluminum fins on the outdoor coil, and wind can knock debris into the unit or rattle its wiring loose. You'll notice it as weak airflow, a system that runs but doesn't cool, or a unit that hums without starting.
- 4 months
- June through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 86°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 20 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 71 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 Cabell County, so the repair decision comes down to the unit's condition.
Estimates for a typical Cabell County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, West Virginia 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.
West Virginia requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
West Virginia's Commissioner of Labor issues the license, and it belongs to the contractor, not to any single job. It covers whoever comes out to your house, whether the work is a repair or a new install.
For a repair on your air conditioner, the state license covers the contractor, but the refrigerant itself falls under a separate rule. Any technician who opens that side of your system, to check the charge or fix a leak, has to hold EPA Section 608 certification. That rule is federal and applies the same way in every state. On this job the state license accounts for the contractor, and the EPA certification accounts for whoever actually touches the refrigerant.
Source: West Virginia Legislature
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- The most common cause is a dirty air filter choking off airflow, so start there before anything else. A clogged filter can freeze the coil, and once that happens the system may only push room-temperature air until the ice melts. Low refrigerant from a leak is another common cause, but only a licensed technician with EPA 608 certification can legally check the charge and repair a leak, since that means opening the refrigerant side of the system. If the filter is clean and the vents are open, it is worth having someone look at the refrigerant level and the coil itself.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Most of the time this means the condensate drain line is clogged, so water backs up and finds another way out instead of draining outside. Algae and dust build up inside that line over a cooling season and block it, especially by the end of a long run from June through September. A frozen evaporator coil will also cause this once it thaws, so check whether the filter is dirty first. If the drain pan itself has rusted through or cracked, the leak will keep coming back until the pan is replaced.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Check the thermostat batteries and the breaker first, since those stop a system cold and are easy to rule out. If both are fine, the capacitor that starts the compressor may have failed, which is a common reason a unit stays silent even when power is reaching it. Storms in this area bring damaging wind often enough that a tripped breaker or a knocked-loose wire outside the unit is worth checking after any rough weather. A contractor can test the capacitor and the electrical connections to find out which one it is.