AC Repair in Madison, MS
Air conditioners here run from May through October. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Madison County will get in touch.
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Six months of heat, six months of strain
Your air conditioner works from May through October in Madison County. On afternoons that average 91°F, it runs long and it runs often, and every hour adds wear to the compressor and the fan motor.
The storms here add another kind of stress. Ten years of records show 160 damaging wind events and 28 hail events, one of them dropping stones 1.75 inches across. Wind can bend the fins on your outdoor unit or knock debris into it, and hail can dent the cabinet or damage the coil inside it. When the unit outside takes a hit like that, you notice it as warm air coming through the vents or a system that will not come on at all.
- 6 months
- May through October, your air conditioner is on duty
- 91°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 28 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 160 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 Madison County home.
Estimates for a typical Madison 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 license comes from the State Board of Contractors, and it belongs to the contractor, not to any single job. It covers the person or company doing the work, not each repair they show up for.
For this repair, that license is what stands behind the work. Since fixing an air conditioner usually means opening the refrigerant side of the system, the technician also has to hold EPA Section 608 certification, a federal requirement that applies in every state and exists apart from Mississippi's license.
Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- The most common reason is low refrigerant from a leak somewhere in the line set or coil. It can also mean the compressor has failed, or the airflow across the evaporator coil is blocked by a dirty filter or a coil coated in ice. A licensed contractor needs EPA 608 certification just to open the refrigerant side, so this isn't a repair to attempt yourself. Summer afternoons here average 91°F, so it's worth having someone look at it before the next run of hot days.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Water around your unit usually means the condensate drain line is clogged, so the water that's supposed to run outside is backing up and finding another way out. It can also mean the evaporator coil has frozen and is now melting, which points to restricted airflow or low refrigerant. Either way the fix is different depending on the cause, so it's worth having a contractor trace it back rather than just mopping it up.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it has power and is set to cool below the room temperature. If that's fine, check your breaker panel, since a tripped breaker will cut power to the outdoor unit. Beyond that it could be a failed capacitor or a wiring issue, and that's a job for a licensed contractor. This area has had 160 damaging wind events over the past ten years, so if a storm just came through, it's also worth having the outdoor unit checked for damage before assuming it's something simple.