AC Repair in Southaven, MS
Air conditioners here run from May through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers DeSoto County will get in touch.
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Five months of Southaven summer wears on an AC fast
From May through September your air conditioner is running nearly every day, working against afternoons that average 90°F. That kind of stretch doesn't let the system rest, and the parts that keep it running, the capacitor and the compressor, take the wear.
DeSoto County has also seen 30 hail events and 50 damaging wind events over the past ten years. Hail up to 2 inches can bend the fins on your outdoor unit or damage the fan, and high wind can knock the unit out of alignment or drive debris into it. If your AC is cooling poorly or making noise it didn't before, one of these is often why.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 90°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 30 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 50 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new air conditioner would cut about $60 a year off cooling for a typical DeSoto County home.
Estimates for a typical DeSoto 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 tested this contractor before handing out that license, and the Board of Contractors keeps a record of who holds one. That covers the contractor as a whole, not the specific job at your house. It tells you the state has vetted the person or company you're hiring, not that it inspected this particular repair.
For the repair itself, the license is what stands behind the work. If the job involves opening up the refrigerant side of your air conditioner, the technician also needs EPA Section 608 certification, which every state requires because handling refrigerant improperly can harm people and the environment. That's a federal rule, not part of Mississippi's license, but it applies to whoever touches that part of the system.
Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- The most common cause is low refrigerant from a leak somewhere in the line. It can also mean the coil has frozen over, which happens when airflow is restricted, often by a dirty filter. A failing compressor will do this too, though that's less common than the other two. A licensed contractor needs to check refrigerant levels and pressures to know which one it is, since only someone with EPA 608 certification is allowed to open the refrigerant side of the system.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Usually the drain line is clogged, so condensation backs up and finds another way out. It can also mean the coil is frozen and dripping water as it thaws. Less often, the drain pan has rusted through or cracked. Clearing the line is a simple fix, but a cracked pan means a part needs replacing.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it's set to cool and the temperature is actually below the room temperature. If that's not it, check the breaker, since a tripped breaker will cut power to the whole system. Summer afternoons here run around 90°F, so a system that won't start during a stretch like that needs looking at soon. If power and the thermostat check out, the problem is inside the unit and a licensed contractor will need to diagnose it.