AC Repair in Prescott Valley, AZ
Air conditioners here run from June through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Yavapai County will get in touch.
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Four months of heat, and hail in between
Your air conditioner in Prescott Valley works hard from June through September, with afternoons averaging 93°F. That kind of heat means long run times, day after day, and the compressor and the fan motor carry that load without much rest. When one of them starts to go, you notice it as warm air still coming from the vents, or the unit running longer than it used to.
The outdoor unit also takes a beating from the weather itself. Yavapai County has seen 94 damaging wind events and 36 hail events over the past ten years, with hailstones up to 1.75 inches. Hail that size can bend the thin fins on the outdoor coil, and bent fins block airflow the unit needs to cool your home.
- 4 months
- June through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 93°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 36 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 94 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 Yavapai County home.
Estimates for a typical Yavapai County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Arizona 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.
Arizona requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Registrar of Contractors tests the contractor before the license is issued, then keeps a record of that contractor under its license number. It covers the business doing the work, not a check on this particular repair.
For a repair like this, the license is what stands behind the person in your driveway, but the refrigerant work itself falls under a separate federal rule. Anyone who opens the sealed side of your air conditioner to touch the refrigerant has to hold EPA Section 608 certification, whether they're working in Yavapai County or anywhere else in the country.
Sources: Arizona State Legislature · Arizona Registrar of Contractors
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- Most of the time this means the system is low on refrigerant or the airflow is blocked somewhere. Check your filter first, a clogged one starves the coil of air and it can freeze over, which cuts off cold air entirely. If the filter is clean and the vents are blowing warm anyway, the problem is more likely the compressor or a refrigerant leak, and that calls for a licensed contractor to check. Running the system with a frozen coil or a failing compressor for too long can turn a small repair into a bigger one, so it is worth having someone look at it soon.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Your AC pulls moisture out of the air as it cools it, and that water is supposed to drain outside through a condensate line. When that line gets clogged with dirt or algae, the water backs up and drips inside instead, often near the indoor unit. A frozen coil that then thaws can also flood the drain pan faster than it can clear. Either way, a licensed contractor can clear the line or find what else is sending water where it shouldn't go.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it has power, the batteries are good, and it's set to cool with a temperature below the room. If the thermostat looks fine, check your breaker panel, since a tripped breaker will keep the whole system dead. When both of those check out and the AC still won't start, the issue is likely inside the unit itself, something a licensed contractor needs to diagnose. With summer afternoons here averaging 93°F, it's worth getting it looked at quickly.