AC Repair in Cartersville, GA
Air conditioners here run from May through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Bartow County will get in touch.
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It takes about a minute.
Five months of Georgia heat, every year
From May through September your air conditioner is working most days, and Cartersville afternoons average 88°F through the stretch. That kind of steady load falls on the compressor and the capacitor that starts it. A weak capacitor still lets the unit hum on but the compressor can't get going, and you'll notice the outside unit humming or clicking without the air ever cooling down.
Bartow County has also logged 90 damaging wind events and 12 hail storms over the past ten years, one dropping hail nearly two inches wide. Hail that size can dent or crack the thin fins on the outdoor coil, and a bent fin panel cuts down how well the unit sheds heat, right when the summer heat is asking the most of it.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 88°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 12 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 90 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 Bartow County home.
Estimates for a typical Bartow County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Georgia 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.
Georgia requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The state board tests contractors before they get that license, and it keeps a record of who holds one. It's tied to the contractor, not to this specific repair, so the same license covers the next job and the one after that.
For an air conditioner repair, the part that matters most is the refrigerant. Anyone who opens that side of the system, in Georgia or anywhere else, has to hold EPA Section 608 certification. That's a federal rule, separate from the state license, and it applies no matter who does the work.
Source: Georgia Secretary of State
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- The most common reason is a dirty air filter choking off airflow, so start there before anything else. A clogged filter starves the coil and can cause it to freeze over, which then blows warm or weak air until it thaws. Low refrigerant from a leak is another common cause, and that one needs a contractor, since refrigerant doesn't run low on its own without a leak somewhere in the system. If the filter looks clean and air is still warm, have a contractor check the refrigerant charge and the coil.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Most often the drain line is clogged, so condensation backs up and finds its way out instead of draining outside like it should. Algae and dust build up in that line over time and block it, especially with five months of steady cooling here each year. A frozen coil that then thaws fast can also flood the drain pan faster than it can clear. If the leak keeps coming back, have a contractor clear the line and check the drain pan for cracks.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Check the thermostat first, since a dead battery or a setting bumped to off or heat is the simplest explanation. Next check the breaker, since a tripped breaker will stop the unit from starting at all. Cartersville has seen its share of damaging wind over the years, and a power surge during a storm can trip a breaker without doing any real damage to the unit. If the breaker holds and the thermostat looks right, the problem is likely inside the unit and worth having a licensed contractor look at.