AC Repair in Thibodaux, LA
Air conditioners here run from April through October. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Lafourche Parish will get in touch.
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Seven months of Louisiana heat wears an AC down
Your air conditioner runs from April through October here, seven months of the year. On summer afternoons that average 90°F, it cycles on and off for hours at a stretch to keep up. That kind of runtime wears on the compressor and the capacitor that gets it started each cycle. When the capacitor weakens, the unit hums but the compressor won't start, and the air stops getting cold.
Lafourche Parish has also seen 16 hail events and 16 damaging wind events over the past ten years, with hail up to 3.5 inches. Hail that size can bend the thin aluminum fins on the outdoor coil, and wind can pull at the line set or knock debris into the unit. A coil with crushed fins can't shed heat the way it should, so the system runs longer and cools less.
- 7 months
- April through October, your air conditioner is on duty
- 90°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 16 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 16 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new air conditioner would cut about $80 a year off cooling for a typical Lafourche Parish home.
Estimates for a typical Lafourche Parish home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Louisiana 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.
Louisiana requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
Louisiana licenses HVAC contractors through the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors. That license belongs to the contractor, not to any single job, so the same license that covers a furnace install covers the repair on your air conditioner.
Repairing an air conditioner almost always means opening the refrigerant side of the system, and anyone who does that, in every state, has to hold EPA Section 608 certification. That certification is federal and separate from the state license. Here, the Louisiana license is what stands behind the contractor doing the work, and the EPA card is what says the person handling the refrigerant is qualified to do it.
Source: Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- Most often the filter is clogged and starving the system of airflow, or the refrigerant charge is low. A dirty filter makes the coil work harder until it ices over, and once that happens you get weak or warm air until the ice melts off. Low refrigerant almost always means a leak somewhere in the line set or coil, and that needs a licensed contractor with EPA 608 certification to find and fix, since it means opening the refrigerant side. With summer highs around 90°F here, a system running low on charge falls behind fast.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Water around your air handler usually means the condensate drain line is clogged or the pan underneath has cracked. Algae and dirt build up in that drain line over time and block the water from draining out the way it should. It can also mean the coil is icing over from low airflow or low refrigerant, and the water shows up when that ice melts. Either way, water on the floor near the unit is worth a contractor's attention before it damages the floor or the equipment itself.
- 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 breaker. If those are fine, the capacitor may have failed, which is a common reason a unit hums or clicks but never starts. With 16 damaging wind events recorded here over the past ten years, it is also worth having a contractor check the outdoor unit for storm damage if your AC stopped working after a storm.