AC Repair in Searcy, AR
Air conditioners here run from May through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers White County will get in touch.
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Five months of Arkansas heat wears on your AC
Your air conditioner works from May through September here, with afternoons in the 90s most of that stretch. That is five straight months where the compressor runs hard through the hottest part of the day, day after day.
White County also sees its share of hail and wind, 39 hail events and 52 damaging wind events over the last ten years, some hail over two inches. That kind of storm can bend the fins on your outdoor unit or damage the fan on top of it. After a bad storm, or after a long stretch of summer heat, that is when homeowners here notice the air coming from the vents isn't as cold as it should be.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 90°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 39 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 52 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new air conditioner would cut about $50 a year off cooling for a typical White County home.
Estimates for a typical White County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Arkansas 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.
Arkansas requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license belongs to the contractor, not the job, so anyone working on your air conditioner should already hold it before they ever come to your house. Arkansas does not let counties or cities add their own license on top of it, so the same state license applies no matter where in White County you are.
For this repair, that license is what stands behind the work. If the job involves opening the refrigerant side of your system, the technician doing that also needs to hold EPA Section 608 certification, which is a federal requirement in every state, separate from Arkansas's own license.
Source: Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- The most common cause is a dirty air filter choking off airflow, followed by low refrigerant from a leak. A dirty filter starves the coil of air, and ice can build up on it, which stops it from pulling heat out of your air. Low refrigerant means the coil can't absorb heat the way it should, and that's not something you can add yourself. A contractor can check the filter first, then test refrigerant levels if that's not the problem.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Water around your unit usually means the condensate drain line is clogged. Your AC pulls moisture out of the air as it cools, and that water is supposed to run out through a 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 cracked drain pan or a dirty filter causing the coil to ice over and then melt can also cause this.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with your thermostat and your breaker panel. Check that the thermostat is set to cool and the temperature is below room temperature, and check whether the breaker for the AC has tripped. If those look fine, the problem could be a bad capacitor, a tripped safety switch, or a wiring issue, and those need a licensed contractor to diagnose. Arkansas requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license, so make sure whoever you call has one.