AC Repair in Calais, ME
If your air conditioner quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Washington County will get in touch.
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Calais doesn't ask much of an air conditioner
Summer afternoons here average 76°F, and most homes don't run cooling on any regular basis. That's easy on a system, but it's also why a broken one can sit unnoticed. A unit that only gets asked to work on the hottest afternoons doesn't get the steady use that shows a problem early.
What wears on equipment here is the weather around it. Washington County has logged 67 damaging wind events and 7 hail storms over the past ten years, with hail up to an inch. Wind can rack the cabinet or knock loose the fan and refrigerant lines outside. Hail dents the fins on the outdoor coil, and a coil with bent fins can't move heat the way it should. If your air conditioner is running but not cooling, or making noise it didn't before, that outdoor unit is the place to look.
- 76°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 7 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 67 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 Washington County, so the repair decision comes down to the unit's condition.
Estimates for a typical Washington County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Maine 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.
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- Most of the time this means the system is low on refrigerant or the airflow across the indoor coil is blocked. A dirty filter is the first thing to check, since restricted airflow can cause the coil to ice over and stop cooling. If the filter looks fine, the problem is likely inside the system, in the refrigerant charge or the coil itself, and that calls for a contractor to check with gauges.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Water around your unit usually means the condensate drain line is clogged. As the system runs, it pulls moisture out of the air and that water is supposed to drain out through a small line, but algae and debris build up in that line over time and back it up. It can also mean the coil has iced over and is now melting, which points to low refrigerant or weak airflow instead. Either way, a contractor can trace it to the source.
- 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 that the breaker for the outdoor unit hasn't tripped. If both look normal and the system still won't start, the capacitor or a control board inside the unit may have failed, and that's a job for a contractor to test and replace.