AC Repair in Fernley, NV
Air conditioners here run from July through August. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Lyon County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Two months of heat, then long stretches of nothing
Fernley only asks for cooling in July and August. Afternoons average 87°F in that stretch. A system that sits idle most of the year and then gets switched on hard during the hottest weeks can turn up problems right when you need it most. A weak capacitor or a low refrigerant charge tends to show itself under load, not while the unit is off.
Lyon County also sees a lot of wind. Records show 305 damaging wind events over the past ten years. Wind like that can rock an outdoor unit, loosen its electrical connections, or drive debris into the coil and fan. If your air conditioner is blowing warm air or shutting off after a windy day, that is often where the trouble started.
- 2 months
- July through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 87°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 1 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 305 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new air conditioner would cut about $30 a year off cooling for a typical Lyon County home.
Estimates for a typical Lyon County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Nevada 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.
Nevada requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Nevada State Contractors Board tests and licenses HVAC contractors before they can legally do this work. The license belongs to the contractor, not to any single job, so the same license covers a repair like this one and whatever other HVAC work that contractor takes on.
For an air conditioner repair, the contractor's Nevada license is what stands behind the work. If the repair opens up the refrigerant side of the system, which most air conditioner repairs do, the technician doing that part also has to hold EPA Section 608 certification, a federal requirement that applies no matter what state the work is done in.
Sources: Nevada Legislature · Nevada State Contractors Board
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- The most common cause is a dirty air filter choking off airflow across the coil. When that happens the coil can ice up and stop cooling the air passing through it. Low refrigerant from a leak is another common reason, and that takes a licensed technician to find and fix, since opening the refrigerant side requires EPA certification. A failing compressor will also leave you with air moving but not cold, and that's worth having checked before the two hottest months here catch you without cooling.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Most of the time this means the condensate drain line is clogged and water is backing up instead of draining outside. Algae and dust build up in that line over time and eventually block it. A dirty filter can also cause this indirectly, by freezing the coil, which then drips as it thaws. If the drain pan itself has rusted through or cracked, water will leak regardless of whether the line is clear, and that part usually needs replacing.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it's set to cool and has power, since a dead battery or wrong setting stops the system before it ever gets a signal. If the thermostat looks fine, a tripped breaker or a blown fuse at the outdoor unit is the next likely cause. A capacitor that has failed will also keep the compressor or fan from starting even though the unit is getting power, and replacing one means opening the electrical panel, which is a job for a licensed contractor.