AC Repair in Hattiesburg, MS
Air conditioners here run from May through October. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Forrest County will get in touch.
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Six months of Hattiesburg heat wears on your AC
Your air conditioner runs from May through October here, with summer afternoons averaging 91°F. That is six months of the compressor cycling on and off, day after day, to keep up with the heat.
Forrest County also sees its share of rough weather. Ten years of storm records show 22 hail events and 115 damaging wind events. Hail can dent or puncture the thin fins on your outdoor unit, and high winds can knock debris into it or rock it on its pad. If your AC is blowing warm air, cycling more than it used to, or the outdoor unit sounds different than it used to, the long cooling season and the storms it brings are often why.
- 6 months
- May through October, your air conditioner is on duty
- 91°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 22 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 115 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 Forrest County home.
Estimates for a typical Forrest County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Mississippi 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.
Mississippi requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The State Board of Contractors is the one testing and keeping records here. It licenses the contractor as a business, not the individual job, so the same license covers this repair and whatever else that contractor takes on.
For a refrigerant repair like this one, the license is not the only thing standing behind the work. Anyone opening the refrigerant side of your air conditioner also has to hold EPA Section 608 certification, a federal requirement that applies no matter what state you're in. Between the two, you have a contractor the state has tested and a technician certified to handle the refrigerant itself.
Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors
- 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 up and the air coming out turns warm instead of cold. It can also mean the system is low on refrigerant from a leak, which a licensed contractor has to diagnose since only someone with EPA 608 certification can legally open that side of the system. With summer afternoons here averaging 91°F, a system already struggling to keep up will show the problem fast.
- 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 the drain line and off to the side of the house. When the line clogs with algae or debris, the water backs up and drips from the unit instead. A frozen coil that then thaws out fast will do the same thing, so the fix depends on which one it is.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with your thermostat batteries and the breaker for the outdoor unit, since both are common culprits and easy to check yourself. If those are fine, the problem is likely electrical inside the unit, such as a failed capacitor or contactor. With 115 damaging wind events recorded here over the past ten years, it is also worth checking that nothing near the outdoor unit was knocked loose. A licensed Mississippi HVAC contractor can test the electrical components safely and tell you which part failed.