AC Repair in Aurora, IL
Air conditioners here run from June through August. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Kane County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Three months of hard running, plus what the storms leave behind
Your air conditioner in Kane County only gets three months to do its job, June through August, and it runs hard the whole time. Summer afternoons averaging 82°F mean the compressor cycles on again and again, day after day, with little break. That kind of steady load wears on the capacitor and the contactor, the parts that get the compressor started and keep it running. When one of them gives out, the unit hums but the compressor won't kick on, or it shuts off on its own partway through the afternoon.
The other ten years of record shows what the outdoor unit sits through besides heat. Kane County has seen 65 hail events and 190 damaging wind events since 2015, with hail up to 2.5 inches. Hail that size bends the thin aluminum fins on the condenser coil, and wind throws branches and debris into the cabinet. Either one restricts the airflow the system needs to cool the house, and you notice it as warm air from the vents or a system that runs longer than it used to.
- 3 months
- June through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 82°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 65 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 190 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 Kane County, so the repair decision comes down to the unit's condition.
Estimates for a typical Kane County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Illinois 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 Illinois, HVAC licensing for homes is left to the cities and towns.
Kane County falls under whatever rule its own city or township has set, since Illinois leaves HVAC licensing to local governments rather than the state. Some towns in the county require a contractor license, some just register businesses without testing anyone, and some have no rule at all. There is no state board behind any of it and no state record to check.
For a repair on an air conditioner, the part of this job with a real requirement behind it is the refrigerant. Any technician who opens the refrigerant side of the system, anywhere in the country, has to hold EPA Section 608 certification. That is a federal rule, not a local one, and it applies in Kane County the same as everywhere else, regardless of what the town does or does not require.
Source: Illinois General Assembly
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- Most often the filter is clogged and starving the system of airflow, or the refrigerant level is low and there is a leak somewhere in the line. A dirty outdoor coil can cause the same thing, especially after a hailstorm has dented the fins or left debris packed against it. A contractor can check refrigerant pressure and airflow to find which one it is, since low refrigerant needs a licensed hand to add safely.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- The condensate drain line is probably clogged, which backs water up and sends it somewhere it shouldn't go. It can also mean the drain pan has rusted through, or the coil has frozen over and is now thawing and dripping. Shut the system off if you see water pooling near it, since running it longer can mean more water damage.
- 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 even tries. If that's not it, look at the breaker, since a tripped one will keep the AC from starting at all. Summers here only last from June through August, so a unit that sat unused since last year can also fail to start simply from being idle that long.