AC Repair in Lapeer, MI
Air conditioners here run from June through August. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Lapeer County will get in touch.
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Lapeer summers are short but hard on a system that sits idle
Your air conditioner only earns its keep from June through August here, and summer afternoons average 80°F. That is not extreme heat, but the system sits unused most of the year, then gets asked to run hard for three months straight. Capacitors and contactors that sat quiet all that time are the parts most likely to fail once the load comes back.
Lapeer County has also logged 65 damaging wind events and 12 hail events over the past ten years, with hail up to 2.25 inches. Wind can rock the outdoor unit on its pad and strain the refrigerant lines running to it. Hail that size can dent the condenser coil's thin fins, and a dented coil makes the whole system work harder to move heat outside. You would notice it as a system that runs longer than it used to, or one that cools less on the same hot afternoon.
- 3 months
- June through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 80°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 12 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 65 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new air conditioner would save little on running costs in Lapeer County, so the repair decision comes down to the unit's condition.
Estimates for a typical Lapeer County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Michigan 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.
Michigan requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Board of Mechanical Rules is the state body behind that license. It tests contractors before they can work under that license, and it keeps a record of who holds one, so the license belongs to the contractor rather than to any single job they take on.
For a repair on your air conditioner, that license is what stands behind the person coming to your house. Beyond it, since this job means opening the refrigerant side of the system, the technician also has to hold EPA Section 608 certification, the federal requirement that applies to that work in every state.
Sources: Michigan Legislature · Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- Most of the time this comes down to a dirty filter, a low refrigerant charge, or a coil that's frozen over. A clogged filter starves the system of airflow, and once the coil gets too cold it ices up and stops cooling altogether. Low refrigerant almost always means a leak somewhere in the line set or coil, and that won't fix itself by adding more. A contractor can check airflow, look for ice on the coil, and test the charge to find which of these it is.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- This usually means the condensate drain line is clogged or the drain pan has rusted through. Your AC pulls a good amount of moisture out of the air all summer, and that water is supposed to run out through a drain line to the outside. Algae and dirt build up in that line over time and block it, so the water backs up and drips inside instead. A frozen coil that then thaws out can cause the same thing, so it's worth having someone check both the drain and the coil.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat and the breaker before assuming the worst. Check that the thermostat is set to cool and below the room temperature, and check the breaker panel for a tripped switch, since a system that draws too much current will trip it as a safety measure. If both of those look fine, the problem is likely electrical inside the unit itself, like a bad capacitor or contactor, and that calls for a licensed contractor to test and replace.