AC Repair in Indianola, IA
Air conditioners here run from June through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Warren County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Four summer months, and hail that finds the coil
Your air conditioner in Warren County only has to run June through September, but it runs hard those four months, with afternoons averaging 84°F. That steady load falls on the compressor and the fan motor, the parts that carry the system every time it cycles on.
The outdoor unit also takes a beating from the weather itself. Ten years of storm records show 92 hail events and 66 damaging wind events in the area, with hail up to 3 inches across. Hail that size can bend the fins on the outdoor coil, and high wind can knock the unit out of level or drive debris into it. If your AC is running weaker than it used to, or making noise it didn't before, the outdoor coil and fan are a good place to start looking.
- 4 months
- June through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 84°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 92 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 66 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 Warren County, so the repair decision comes down to the unit's condition.
Estimates for a typical Warren County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Iowa 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.
Iowa requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Iowa Plumbing and Mechanical Systems Board tests contractors before they get that license, and it keeps a record of who holds one. It's tied to the contractor, not to the specific job, so the same license covers the work on your air conditioner as it would any other HVAC job they take on in the state.
An air conditioner repair usually means someone is working on the refrigerant side of your system, and that requires EPA Section 608 certification on top of the state license. That's a federal rule, the same in Iowa as anywhere else in the country. Between the two, you've got a contractor the state has tested and a technician certified to handle refrigerant without venting it into the air.
Sources: Iowa Legislature · Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- The most common cause is a dirty air filter choking off airflow across the coil. That can cause the coil to freeze, and once it freezes the system stops cooling altogether. Low refrigerant from a leak is another common cause, and that is not something you can fix yourself since it requires EPA certification to handle. A failing compressor will also leave you with air moving but no cooling. Check the filter first, since that is the one thing you can rule out yourself before calling a contractor.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Most often the condensate drain line is clogged, and water backs up instead of draining outside. It can also mean the drain pan has rusted through, or the coil froze and is now melting and overflowing the pan as it thaws. A dirty air filter is a common root cause behind coil freezing, so that is worth checking too. If the leak is near the furnace or air handler, shut the system off until a contractor can look at it, since water damage adds up fast.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it has power and is set to cool below the room temperature. If the thermostat looks fine, check the breaker, since a tripped breaker is a common reason the unit won't start at all. Indianola sees plenty of summer storms, and 66 damaging wind events over the past ten years means power surges and tripped breakers are a real possibility here. If the breaker keeps tripping when you reset it, stop and call a contractor rather than resetting it again, since that usually points to an electrical problem inside the unit.