New York HVAC Help
An outdoor air conditioning condenser unit positioned on a concrete pad next to a blue-sided house, surrounded by green shrubs and flowering hydrangeas at sunset.

AC Repair in Syracuse, NY

Air conditioners here run from July through August. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Onondaga County will get in touch.

Tell us about the job

It takes about a minute.

Step 1 of 3: Equipment
Aerial view of a square outdoor air conditioning condenser unit on a concrete pad beside a house wall with a sliding glass door.

Two months of hard, steady work

Your air conditioner in Onondaga County gets two months to prove itself, July and August, with afternoons averaging 79°F. It sits idle most of the year, then gets asked to run for hours at a stretch as soon as the heat sets in.

That kind of start and stop wears on the capacitor and the contactor, the parts that get the compressor going each time it kicks on. Onondaga County has also seen 186 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and wind that strong can knock debris into the outdoor unit or rattle it enough to loosen an electrical connection.

2 months
July through August, your air conditioner is on duty
79°F
the average summer afternoon it cools against
15 hail events
in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
186 wind events
in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
Isometric line illustration of a cutaway single-story house showing interior rooms, attic ductwork and an air handler, connected by a line to an outdoor condenser unit on a pad.
Your air conditioner works hardest from July through August.

NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals

Overhead view of a gray residential air conditioning condenser unit mounted on a concrete pad beside a house with asphalt shingle roofing.

A new air conditioner would save little on running costs in Onondaga County, so the repair decision comes down to the unit's condition.

  • A new one at the federal minimum, 13.4 SEER2$160 a year
  • An older air conditioner$180 a year

Estimates for a typical Onondaga 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?
The most common reason is a dirty air filter choking off airflow across the coil. A frozen evaporator coil, a low refrigerant charge, or a failing compressor can all cause the same complaint. Cooling season here only runs July and August, so a unit struggling in the middle of that stretch is worth having looked at quickly.
Why is my AC leaking water?
Most of the time this means the condensate drain line is clogged and water is backing up instead of draining outside. It can also mean the drain pan has rusted through, or the evaporator coil has frozen and is now melting and overflowing as it thaws. A dirty air filter is a common cause of that frozen coil, since restricted airflow drops the coil's temperature below freezing.
Why won't my AC turn on?
Start with the thermostat. Check the batteries and make sure it's set to cool with a temperature below the room temperature. If that's fine, check the breaker panel. A tripped breaker will cut power to the whole system. If the breaker keeps tripping after you reset it, stop and have a contractor look at it rather than resetting it again.
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