AC Repair in San Bernardino, CA
Air conditioners here run from May through October. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers San Bernardino County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Six months of heat wears on your AC every year
Your air conditioner runs from May through October here, and on a 99°F afternoon it doesn't get a break between cycles. The compressor stays under load for hours at a time, and the condenser outside is fighting to shed heat into air that's already hot. That kind of steady demand is what wears out a run capacitor or a condenser fan motor before its time.
San Bernardino County has seen 425 damaging wind events in the past ten years, along with hail up to 1.75 inches. Wind that strong can bend the fins on your outdoor unit or knock debris into it, and either one blocks airflow the condenser needs. When that happens, you'll notice the system running longer to cool the house, or blowing air that isn't as cold as it should be.
- 6 months
- May through October, your air conditioner is on duty
- 99°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 13 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 425 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new air conditioner would cut about $150 a year off cooling for a typical San Bernardino County home.
Estimates for a typical San Bernardino 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 issuing a license and keeps a record of who holds one, along with any complaints filed against them. That license belongs to the contractor, not to any single job, so the same license covers this repair and whatever work they take on next.
For this repair, that license is what stands behind the person working on your air conditioner. If the job means opening the refrigerant lines to add refrigerant or check the charge, the technician also needs EPA Section 608 certification, which is required nationwide and separate from the state license. Between the two, California is one of the states where the license itself is the credential that answers for the work.
Sources: California Legislative Counsel · Contractors State License Board
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- The most common reason is a dirty air filter choking off airflow, or the outdoor unit's coil covered in dirt and unable to shed heat. Low refrigerant from a leak will also leave the air blowing warm, and that only gets fixed by finding and sealing the leak, not by adding more refrigerant. With summer afternoons here running near 99°F, a unit already struggling to keep up will fall further behind fast. A contractor can check the filter, the coil, and the refrigerant charge to find which one it is.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Water around your AC usually means the condensate drain line is clogged, so the water it should carry outside is backing up and finding another way out. It can also mean the drain pan has rusted through, or the evaporator coil has frozen over and is now melting and overflowing. A frozen coil often points to low airflow, from a dirty filter or a low refrigerant charge. A contractor can clear the line or replace the pan depending on what they find.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat. Make sure it is set to cool and the temperature is actually below the room temperature. If that is fine, check the breaker for the AC, since a tripped breaker will shut the whole system down with no warning. San Bernardino has seen 425 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and a power blip during one of those is a common reason a breaker trips. If the breaker is fine and the thermostat is set right, the problem is likely inside the unit itself, and a contractor will need to look at it.