AC Repair in Oklahoma City, OK
Air conditioners here run from May through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Oklahoma County will get in touch.
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Five months of Oklahoma City heat wears an AC down fast
Your air conditioner runs from May through September here, and on a typical summer afternoon it is fighting 92°F heat. That is the stretch where a compressor or capacitor is most likely to fail, because the system runs long hours with little break between cycles. When the capacitor weakens, the outdoor unit hums but the fan does not spin, or the system short cycles and never quite cools the house.
Oklahoma County also sees hail and wind most parts of the country do not. Ten years of records show 296 hail events and 253 damaging wind events, with hail up to 2.75 inches. Hail that size dents the thin aluminum fins on the outdoor coil and can bend the fan housing, and a damaged coil cannot shed heat the way it should. If your system is cooling less well right after a storm, that is usually where to look.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 92°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 296 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 253 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new air conditioner would cut about $60 a year off cooling for a typical Oklahoma County home.
Estimates for a typical Oklahoma County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Oklahoma 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.
Oklahoma requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Construction Industries Board tests contractors before issuing that license and keeps a record of who holds one. It covers the contractor, not the job in front of you, so the same license applies whether the work is a repair, a new install, or a service call.
For a repair on your air conditioner, that state license is what stands behind the person doing the work. If the job involves opening the refrigerant side of the system, which most air conditioner repairs do, the technician also has to hold EPA Section 608 certification. That one comes from the federal government, not Oklahoma, and it applies to anyone touching refrigerant anywhere in the country.
Source: Oklahoma State Legislature
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- The most common reason is a dirty air filter choking off airflow across the coil. When that happens the coil can ice over, and once it's iced the air coming through the vents turns warm or stops moving altogether. A low refrigerant charge causes the same kind of icing, usually from a leak somewhere in the line set or coil. A licensed contractor can check the filter and airflow first, since that's the cheaper problem to rule out, before moving on to refrigerant.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Your AC makes water as it cools the air, and that water is supposed to drain outside through a condensate line. When that line clogs, usually with algae or dirt, the water backs up and drips inside instead. A clogged filter can cause the same leak indirectly, by freezing the coil, then dripping water as the ice melts. Either way the fix means clearing or repairing the drain, which is a job for someone licensed to work on the system.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it's set to cool, the temperature is below room temperature, and it has power or fresh batteries. If the thermostat looks right, check your breaker panel, since a tripped breaker will shut the whole unit down. If the breaker is fine and the AC still won't start, the problem is likely electrical inside the unit itself, and that means calling a contractor licensed to open it up and find the cause.