AC Repair in Corpus Christi, TX
Air conditioners here run from March through November. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Nueces County will get in touch.
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Nine months of Corpus Christi heat wears an AC down
Your air conditioner runs from March through November here, with summer afternoons averaging 94°F. That is nine months of the compressor cycling on and off, most days, just to keep the house at a livable temperature. Parts that only rest a few weeks a year elsewhere barely get a break in Nueces County.
The coast adds its own wear. Nueces County has logged 85 damaging wind events and 16 hail storms in the past ten years, with hail up to 2.75 inches. Wind can bend the fins on your outdoor unit or fling debris into it, and hail dents the coil or housing. If your system is cooling poorly or making noise after a storm, that outdoor unit is the first place to look.
- 9 months
- March through November, your air conditioner is on duty
- 94°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 16 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 85 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new air conditioner would cut about $100 a year off cooling for a typical Nueces County home.
Estimates for a typical Nueces County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Texas 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.
Texas requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation issues that license to the contractor, not to the job. That means the same license stands behind every repair the contractor takes on, this one included.
For a repair on your air conditioner, the refrigerant is the part with its own separate rule. Any technician who opens that side of the system needs EPA Section 608 certification, and that requirement holds in every state, not just Texas. So the person working on your air conditioner is covered two ways, the state license behind the contractor and the federal certification behind whoever handles the refrigerant.
Source: Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- Most often the filter is clogged enough to choke off airflow, or the outside unit is dirty and can't shed heat. Low refrigerant from a leak is another common cause, and that one won't fix itself, it needs a licensed contractor to find the leak and repair it. With Corpus Christi running cooling from March through November, a dirty filter shows up fast, so check it first before anything else. If the air coming out is warm and the outside unit isn't running at all, that's a different problem, likely electrical, and worth having looked at soon.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- The drain line is probably clogged. Your AC pulls moisture out of the air as it cools, and that water is supposed to run out through a drain line, but algae and dirt build up in that line over time and back the water up until it finds another way out. A clogged filter can also cause this by freezing the coil, which then thaws and drips more water than the drain can handle. Either way, shut the system off until a contractor clears the line or the coil, because running it while water is backing up can damage the drywall or flooring underneath.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat and the breaker. Check that the thermostat is set to cool and below the room temperature, and check the breaker for the outside unit hasn't tripped. If both look fine and the system still won't start, it could be a bad capacitor, a failed contactor, or a safety switch that's shutting it down on purpose, and those need a licensed contractor to diagnose. In a place where the cooling season runs nine months of the year, it's worth having this looked at quickly rather than waiting it out.