AC Repair in San Diego, CA
Air conditioners here run from June through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers San Diego County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Four months of heavy use, every year
San Diego County only needs cooling from June through September, but those four months work the system hard. Summer afternoons average 89°F, and a unit sized for that runs long hours to keep up. The compressor and the fan motor take the brunt of it, cycling on for hours at a stretch instead of short bursts.
Wind is the other factor here. The county has logged 370 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and outdoor units sit exposed to it. Loose panels, bent fins on the condenser coil, and debris pulled into the cabinet all trace back to wind. Hail is rare here, just 11 events in ten years with a largest stone of 1 inch, so it is not something most systems need to be built around.
- 4 months
- June through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 89°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 11 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 370 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new air conditioner would cut about $70 a year off cooling for a typical San Diego County home.
Estimates for a typical San Diego 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 get that license and keeps a record of who holds one, so the license follows the business, not the specific repair. It tells you the state has checked this contractor's qualifications at some point, not that this particular job was inspected or signed off on.
For an air conditioner repair, the state license is what stands behind the person doing the work. Because this job involves refrigerant, the technician also needs EPA Section 608 certification, which is a federal requirement in every state, not something California adds on top. Between the two, one confirms the contractor is licensed to work in California, and the other confirms they are certified to handle the refrigerant inside your system.
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 is low from a leak somewhere in the line. A dirty filter is worth checking first since it's the easiest thing to fix yourself. If the filter is clean and you still get warm air, the coil may be icing up or the refrigerant charge may be low, and that calls for a licensed contractor to check pressures and find any leak. Running the system while it's blowing warm air can make a coil freeze-up worse, so it's better to shut it off until someone looks at it.
- 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 to the outside. Algae and dirt build up in that line over time and block it, so the water backs up and drips inside instead. A frozen coil that's now thawing can cause the same thing, so if the air wasn't blowing cold beforehand, that's likely the cause instead of the drain.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat and the breaker before assuming the worst. Check that the thermostat is set to cool and the temperature is actually below room temperature, and check your electrical panel for a tripped breaker. San Diego sees plenty of wind events each year, and a power blip is a common reason a breaker trips or a thermostat loses its settings. If the breaker keeps tripping when you reset it, stop resetting it and have a licensed contractor look at it, since that usually means something electrical needs attention.