AC Repair in Binghamton, NY
Air conditioners here run from July through August. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Broome County will get in touch.
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Two months of real work, then storms to survive the rest of the year
Your air conditioner only earns its keep in July and August here, with afternoons averaging 79°F. That is a short season, but it is a demanding one, and a unit that sits idle most of the year can be slow to start when it finally gets the call. A weak capacitor or a compressor that has to work harder than it should because a coil is dirty will show up fast once the heat arrives.
Broome County has logged 248 damaging wind events and 39 hail events over the past ten years, with hail up to 3 inches. Outdoor units take the brunt of that. Bent fins, a dented cabinet, or a fan blade knocked out of balance are the kind of damage that shows up as a system running loud, running weak, or not running at all.
- 2 months
- July through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 79°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 39 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 248 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 Broome County, so the repair decision comes down to the unit's condition.
Estimates for a typical Broome County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, New York 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?
- Most of the time this means the airflow across the coil has dropped or the refrigerant charge is low. A dirty filter or a coil coated in dust will do it, and so will a leak in the line that's let refrigerant escape over time. It can also be the thermostat calling for fan only instead of cooling, so check that setting before anything else. If the filter looks clean and the setting is right, the coil or the charge needs a contractor to look at it.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Water around your unit usually means the condensate drain line is clogged. Algae and dust build up in that line over a summer of running, and once it's blocked the water backs up and finds another way out, often through the pan or down through your ceiling if the unit sits in an attic. A frozen coil that then thaws can cause the same thing, so if the system was blowing warm air before you saw water, that's likely the cause. Either way it needs clearing out or the coil needs a look, and a contractor can tell which.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it's set to cool, the temperature is below the room temperature, and it has power, since a dead battery will shut the whole system down. If the thermostat looks fine, check your breaker panel, because a tripped breaker will keep the unit from starting at all. If the breaker is fine and it still won't start, the problem is inside the unit and a contractor will need to find it.