Air Conditioning Service & Repair
Common Repairs & the Brands Behind Them
Summer is here in Aurora, Oswego, Plainfield, Naperville and Lisle (IL), and just as we would have expected, so are the temperature readings. We’re already getting a steady diet of days in the 90s, and of course the humidity is riding along.
Those conditions keep us pretty busy in the field here at Beery Heating and Cooling. Our team works day into night and weekends to help make sure our valuable customers stay comfortable, safe and cool.
With that kind of schedule, we attend to a lot of different cooling systems in many different neighborhoods. That much hands-on activity makes us familiar with the most common repairs as well as the air conditioning brands that tend to need service more often.
Local Air Conditioning Service & Repair: Leading Issues
Because an air conditioner is a complex mechanism with many moving parts, any number of variables can contribute to a need for service or repair. As we’ve been supporting our customers in Aurora, Oswego, Plainfield, Naperville and Lisle, we’ve found that the most common repairs have been for the air conditioning capacitor and contactor.
The AC capacitor has a big and important workload in your cooling system. It is an electronic device that stores electrical energy in the form of accumulated electrical charges on their plates. You could also think of it as a short-term power-storage device.
When the capacitor is connected to a power source, it stores the released energy when it is removed from the source. It acts similarly to a battery, except where a battery stores energy through electrochemical processes, the capacitor stores only charge. A capacitor releases energy faster because a battery’s chemical reactions take longer.
Your air conditioner typically requires more energy than is available through your home’s wiring. With the capacitor included, the circuit gains an electrical jump. While the AC is drawing power from the grid, the capacitor and the wiring work together to give the unit the correct amount of power supply to start up and operate.
A few signs that the capacitor is going bad are:
- no voltage
- no cold air
- higher energy bills
- irregular shutoffs
- burning smell from the unit
- problems turning the system on
The contactor controls the flow of electricity to all parts of the air conditioning unit. It is a type of switch that receives a low-voltage signal (24V) from your system to power on.
The contactor creates a magnetic field that pulls down a piece of metal that will connect the higher voltage on either side of it. This closing of the circuit allows electricity to power the AC fan and compressor motors.
Contactors are typically available as two different types: single pole and double pole. A single-pole contactor contains one magnetic coil that will connect one circuit. A double- pole contactor has two coils that connect two circuits.
If your air conditioner’s contactor is not working, the unit will not be able to correctly cool the home. The AC might also continue to run even when the thermostat is not asking it to.
A good-quality contactor can often last from five to 10 years. Signs of a bad contactor can include a humming sound, a chattering sound or overheating that melts the casing.
Beyond proper annual maintenance, there’s really not a lot we can do to prevent a failing capacitor or contactor. With those parts, when it’s their time to go, it’s their time to go.
The cost of repair (service and parts) for these items typically ranges from $300 to $700.
Local Air Conditioning Service & Repair: Brands
The AC market includes many different makes and models. As we’re providing service and repair for air conditioners in Aurora, Oswego, Plainfield, Naperville and Lisle, the brands we come across most often are Trane, Lennox, Bryant, Carrier and American Standard.
In our experience, Lennox, Bryant and Carrier tend to have the most issues needing repair and attention. Trane and American Standard often have better and longer-lasting performance records.
From our vantage point in the field, American Standard is a superb brand built with top-of-the-line quality. Its cabinet is sturdy, its metals are thicker and its parts are heavy-duty. These characteristics often make American Standard air conditioners enduring and stable.
Another common AC repair and service item we see is low refrigerant or a refrigerant leak in older (pre-2010) units. Many of these systems used R-22 freon, which is now discontinued for environmental reasons. Because R-22 is no longer available, replacing it is increasingly expensive. These older systems will phase out as they reach the end of their life spans, and by 2030 there should be very few remaining.
Here for Answers and Service
At Beery Heating and Cooling, we love hearing from our customers and finding out how we can serve and inform them for air conditioning that performs better and saves more money. If you need service or repair in Naperville, Aurora, Plainfield, Oswego and Lisle, just give us a call at (630) 585-6444!
We also provide air conditioning service and repair for many different unit brands in nearby communities such as Batavia, North Aurora, Sugar Grove, Montgomery and Plano (IL).