AC Repair in Baltimore, MD
Air conditioners here run from June through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Baltimore will get in touch.
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Four months of Baltimore heat wears on your AC
From June through September your air conditioner is on most days, with summer afternoons averaging 87°F. That's the stretch when the compressor and fan see the most hours, and it's also when a weak part finally quits, usually on the hottest afternoon when the system is working hardest.
Baltimore also gets hard weather that reaches the outdoor unit. Over the past ten years the area has recorded 45 damaging wind events and 6 hail events, with a hailstone as large as 1.5 inches. Wind can throw debris into the unit or knock it loose from its pad. Hail that size can dent the thin fins on the condenser coil, and bent fins keep the coil from shedding heat the way it needs to. If your AC is running but not cooling like it used to, either of these is a reasonable place to start looking.
- 4 months
- June through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 87°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 6 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 45 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 Baltimore home.
Estimates for a typical Baltimore home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Maryland 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.
Maryland requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The state tested this contractor before handing out that license, and the Board keeps a record of who holds one. The license covers the contractor, not the job. The same license applies to this repair and every other HVAC job they take on.
For an air conditioner repair, the refrigerant side of the job calls for its own credential. Anyone who opens the system to fix a leak or recover and recharge refrigerant has to hold EPA Section 608 certification. That rule is federal. It applies in every state, not just Maryland. So this job has two things standing behind it. The state license put the contractor on record. The federal certification says they are allowed to handle the refrigerant itself.
Sources: Maryland General Assembly · Maryland Department of Labor
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- The most common reason is a dirty air filter choking off airflow across the coil. When air can't move through the coil, it can ice up, and once that happens you get weak or warm air until the ice melts. A low refrigerant charge from a leak will cause the same thing, and that's not a job to guess at since anyone who opens the refrigerant side needs EPA 608 certification to handle it legally. Check the filter first, and if it's clean, have a licensed contractor check the charge and the coil.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Water around your unit usually means the condensate drain line is clogged. As your AC pulls moisture out of the air, that water is supposed to run out through the drain line, and algae or dirt can block it over time, sending water back into your house instead. A dirty filter can also cause the coil to ice over, and when that ice melts it can overwhelm the drain pan. A licensed contractor can clear the line and check whether the coil iced up in the first place.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with your thermostat batteries and the breaker for the outdoor unit, since both are common culprits and easy to check yourself. If those are fine, the capacitor that starts the compressor may have failed, which is one of the more frequent reasons an AC won't start at all. With summer afternoons here averaging 87°F, a unit that won't turn on needs attention fast, so it's worth having a contractor look at it the same day if you can.