AC Repair in Portland, ME
Air conditioners here run from July through August. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Cumberland County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Two months of real work, then it sits
Your air conditioner in Cumberland County only earns its keep in July and August. Summer afternoons average 78°F, which is not extreme heat, but the unit still has to start up reliably after sitting idle most of the year. That kind of on and off use is hard on capacitors and contactors, the parts that get the compressor going each time it cycles on.
The county has also logged 145 damaging wind events and 19 hail events over the past ten years, with hailstones up to 1.5 inches. Wind can bend the thin fins on the outdoor coil or knock debris into the unit, and hail that size can dent the cabinet or damage the fins outright. If your air conditioner is blowing warm air or the outdoor fan sounds like it is struggling, a bent coil or a worn capacitor is a reasonable place to start looking.
- 2 months
- July through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 78°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 19 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 145 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 Cumberland County, so the repair decision comes down to the unit's condition.
Estimates for a typical Cumberland 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 airflow across the coil is blocked or the system is low on refrigerant. Check the filter first, since a clogged one starves the coil and can cause it to ice over. If the filter is clean and you still get warm air, the charge is probably low, and that points to a leak somewhere in the line that a contractor needs to find and seal before adding refrigerant.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- The drain line that carries condensation away from the indoor coil is clogged. Once that line backs up, the water has to go somewhere else, usually into the drain pan and out onto the floor. Algae and dust build up in that line over time and it needs to be cleared out to let the water drain the way it should.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat and the breaker, since a dead battery or a tripped breaker will stop the whole system cold. If those check out, the problem is likely in the outdoor unit itself, something like a failed capacitor or a tripped safety switch. Either way, a contractor can test the unit and tell you which part has failed.