AC Repair in Martinsburg, WV
Air conditioners here run from June through August. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Berkeley County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Three months of heat, then storms the rest of the year
Your air conditioner in Martinsburg sits unused most of the year, then has to work June through August with afternoons averaging 85°F. A unit that starts up hard after months of rest is more likely to show a weak capacitor or a low-refrigerant leak right when you need it most.
Berkeley County has also logged 90 damaging wind events and 25 hail events over the past ten years, with hail up to 1.5 inches. Wind can rock the outdoor unit on its pad and strain the refrigerant lines running to it. Hail that size can dent the thin fins on the condenser coil, and once those fins are crushed, the coil can't shed heat the way it should. You'll notice it as a system that runs longer, cools less, or won't come on at all.
- 3 months
- June through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 85°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 25 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 90 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 Berkeley County home.
Estimates for a typical Berkeley 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 licenses HVAC contractors through the Commissioner of Labor, and that office keeps the record of who holds one. The license covers the contractor as a business, not the specific repair at your house.
For an air conditioner repair, that license is what stands behind the person doing the work. If the repair means opening the refrigerant side of your system, whoever does that also needs EPA Section 608 certification. Every technician in the country needs that certification for that part of the job, regardless of state licensing. The state license is on the contractor. The federal certification is on the person handling the refrigerant.
Source: West Virginia Legislature
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- The most common reason is low refrigerant from a leak somewhere in the line set or coil. It can also mean the compressor has failed, or the air filter is so clogged that air can't move across the coil long enough to cool it. Only a licensed technician with EPA Section 608 certification can check the refrigerant charge or open that side of the system, so if the filter looks clean, get someone out to check the compressor and refrigerant level.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Cooling your home pulls moisture out of the air, and that water is supposed to drain out through a condensate line. When that line clogs, usually with algae or dirt, the water backs up and finds its way out somewhere else, often into the house. A frozen coil that then thaws will cause the same kind of leak. Either way it needs a contractor to clear the line or find out why the coil froze.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat. Check the batteries and make sure it's set to cool and below the room temperature. If that's fine, check the breaker, since a tripped breaker will shut the whole system down with no warning. If the breaker keeps tripping or the thermostat looks right and nothing happens, the problem is inside the unit and needs a licensed contractor to diagnose.