AC Repair in Denton, TX
Air conditioners here run from May through October. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Denton County will get in touch.
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Six months of Texas heat, hard on your AC
Your air conditioner runs from May through October here, with summer afternoons averaging 94°F. That is six straight months where the system barely gets a break. The compressor carries that load every one of those days. Parts that cycle this much wear faster. The start capacitor gives the compressor its initial kick, the run capacitor keeps it going, and the contactor switches it on. When one of these gives out, the unit either won't start or it hums and trips off.
Denton County has also logged 355 hail events and 115 damaging wind events over the past ten years, with hail up to 5.9 inches. The outdoor unit sits through all of this. Hail bends the thin aluminum fins on the condenser coil. Bent fins block the airflow the coil needs to release heat. A coil that can't do that makes the whole system work harder to cool the same house. You notice it as warm air from the vents or a unit that runs longer than it used to.
- 6 months
- May through October, your air conditioner is on duty
- 94°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 355 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 $60 a year off cooling for a typical Denton County home.
Estimates for a typical Denton 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. It is tied to the contractor, not to any single job. The person or company working on your air conditioner had to pass the state's testing to get licensed, and TDLR keeps a record of who holds one. A separate check does not happen each time a contractor takes on a repair.
For a repair like this, the license covers who is allowed to do the work in Texas. Your air conditioner runs on refrigerant, and opening that side of the system needs something beyond the state license. Every technician in the country has to hold EPA Section 608 certification before touching refrigerant. That federal certification stands behind this part of the job, on top of the state license Texas already requires.
Source: Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- Most of the time it is a dirty air filter choking off airflow, or the refrigerant charge running low from a leak somewhere in the line. A frozen coil causes the same thing, and it usually froze because of one of those two problems in the first place. With summer afternoons here hitting 94°F, a system that is low on refrigerant or fighting a clogged filter will fall behind fast and never really catch up. Check the filter first, since that one you can do yourself. If it is clean and the air still is not cold, a contractor will need to check the charge and look for a leak.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Water around your unit usually means the condensate drain line is clogged, or the coil has frozen and is now melting and overflowing the pan. Algae and dirt build up in that drain line over a cooling season and eventually block it, and once the pan backs up the water has to go somewhere. A frozen coil points to a different problem, often airflow or refrigerant, and it will keep dripping until that root cause gets fixed. Either way, a contractor can clear the line or find why the coil froze and stop it from happening again.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat and the breaker, since those cause more no-start calls than anything inside the unit. A dead thermostat battery or a tripped breaker will leave the system completely silent, and both are quick to check yourself. If the breaker holds and the thermostat has power but the outdoor unit still will not run, the capacitor or contactor may have failed, and that is a repair for a licensed contractor. Texas requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license through the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, so ask to see it before any work is done.