AC Repair in Columbus, IN
Air conditioners here run from June through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Bartholomew County will get in touch.
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Four months of hard running in Bartholomew County
Your air conditioner works June through September here, with summer afternoons averaging 84°F. That is the stretch when it runs longest and hardest, and the parts that keep it going, the capacitor, the contactor, the compressor, take the wear.
This area has also seen 40 damaging wind events and 6 hail storms over the past ten years, one dropping hail 1.25 inches across. Wind drives debris into the outdoor unit's coil and fins, and hail can dent them. Either one blocks airflow the unit needs, and you notice it as warm air inside or a system that runs long and never quite catches up.
- 4 months
- June through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 84°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 6 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 40 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new air conditioner would cut about $30 a year off cooling for a typical Bartholomew County home.
Estimates for a typical Bartholomew County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Indiana 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.
In Indiana, HVAC licensing for homes is left to the counties and cities.
Bartholomew County sets its own rule on who can do HVAC work, and whether that means a license, a registration, or nothing at all depends on the county or city office that covers the address. Indiana does not run a state license for this trade, so there is no state exam or state record behind a contractor's name. What applies here comes from the local building department, not from Indianapolis.
For a repair on your air conditioner, the protection that does apply everywhere is federal. Any technician who touches the refrigerant lines or coil has to hold EPA Section 608 certification, and that rule does not change by county or state. Beyond that, whether Bartholomew County records or licenses HVAC contractors is a local question, not one Indiana answers for the whole state.
Sources: Indiana Department of Workforce Development · State of Indiana
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- The most common cause is a dirty air filter choking off airflow across the coil, which can ice it up and leave you with warm air until it thaws. Low refrigerant from a leak is another common cause, and it will not fix itself by adding more, since the leak has to be found and sealed first. A failing compressor can also do this, and that one needs a contractor to check. Start by looking at the filter before anything else.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Most often the condensate drain line is clogged, and water that should run outside is backing up and dripping inside instead. Algae and dust build up in that line over a season of steady runtime. A dirty filter can also cause this indirectly, by freezing the coil and then flooding your floor when the ice melts. If the drain pan itself has rusted through, that pan needs replacing.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Check the thermostat first, since a dead battery or a setting bumped too high will stop the system before it ever starts. If the thermostat looks fine, check the breaker panel, because a tripped breaker cuts power to the whole unit. Storms in this area can trip breakers or damage outdoor wiring, so if you had wind or a lightning strike recently, that is worth ruling out. If power and settings both check out and it still will not start, the capacitor or the compressor itself may be the problem, and that calls for a contractor.