AC Repair in Sacramento, CA
Air conditioners here run from May through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Sacramento County will get in touch.
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It takes about a minute.
Five months of Sacramento heat wears on your AC
From May through September your air conditioner runs almost every day, working against afternoons that average 92°F. That kind of stretch adds up. The compressor cycles on for hours at a time, and the capacitor that gives it the jolt to start each cycle takes the wear. When a capacitor is going, you will notice the outside unit humming but not starting, or the air turning warm in the middle of a hot afternoon.
Wind is the other thing this area sees. Sacramento County has logged 54 damaging wind events over the past ten years. Wind can knock debris into the outdoor unit or rattle loose the electrical connections that keep it running, so a system that worked fine one day can trip out the next.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 92°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 2 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 54 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new air conditioner would cut about $80 a year off cooling for a typical Sacramento County home.
Estimates for a typical Sacramento County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, California 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.
California requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Contractors State License Board tests contractors before they can hold a license and keeps a record of who holds one. That covers the contractor as a business, not the specific repair being done at your house. A license number means the person or company behind it passed the board's exam and is on file with the state.
For a repair on your air conditioner, that license is what the state holds the contractor to. What it does not reach is the refrigerant side of the job. Any technician who opens that part of the system, in California or any other state, has to hold EPA Section 608 certification. That certification is federal and separate from the state license, and it applies to this repair no matter where in California you are.
Sources: California Legislative Counsel · Contractors State License Board
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- Most often the filter is clogged and starving the system of airflow, or the refrigerant charge is low from a leak. A dirty filter makes the coil work harder and can even freeze it over, so warm air is all that pushes through. Check the filter first since that's the one thing you can look at yourself. If it's clean and you're still not getting cold air, the system needs a contractor to check the charge and the coil.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- The condensate drain line is probably clogged. Your AC pulls moisture out of the air as it cools, and that water is supposed to run out through the drain line and away from the unit. When the line clogs with algae or debris, the water backs up and drips inside or pools near the indoor unit. A frozen coil that's now thawing can also send more water than the drain pan can handle, so if the system was running warm before it leaked, mention that to whoever comes to look at it.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it's set to cool and the temperature is actually below the room temperature, and if it runs on batteries, try fresh ones. If the thermostat looks right, check the breaker panel since a tripped breaker will keep the whole system dead. With Sacramento summers pushing highs around 92°F, a system that won't start needs attention fast, and if the breaker keeps tripping when you reset it, that's a sign for a contractor to look at rather than something to keep resetting yourself.