AC Repair in Minneapolis, MN
Air conditioners here run from June through August. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Hennepin County will get in touch.
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Three months of work, then hail and wind
Your air conditioner in Hennepin County runs three months a year, June through August. On an 80°F afternoon it cycles on and off for hours to keep the house comfortable, and after sitting unused the rest of the year it takes that load on fast once summer starts.
Hennepin County has logged 132 hail events and 142 damaging wind events over the past ten years, with hail up to 3 inches. That kind of storm bends the fins on your outdoor coil and can knock the fan or its housing out of alignment. A coil with bent fins can't shed heat the way it should, and you notice it as a house that won't quite cool down even though the unit keeps running.
- 3 months
- June through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 80°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 132 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 142 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 Hennepin County, so the repair decision comes down to the unit's condition.
Estimates for a typical Hennepin County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Minnesota 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.
Minnesota has no state license for HVAC contractors.
Minnesota does not put HVAC contractors through a state licensing exam, and it does not keep a state registry of who does this work. There is no state credential to check either way, in Hennepin County or anywhere else in Minnesota.
For a repair like this, the protection that does exist is federal. Your air conditioner runs on refrigerant, and any technician who opens that side of the system, to check a charge or fix a leak, has to hold EPA Section 608 certification. That rule applies in every state, Minnesota included, and it is the one credential that actually attaches to this job.
Source: Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- The most common cause is a dirty air filter choking off airflow, so start there before anything else. A clogged filter starves the coil of air, and the coil can ice over, which then blows warm or barely-cool air into the house. Low refrigerant from a leak is another common cause, but that is not something you can check or top off yourself. A contractor who holds EPA 608 certification is required by federal law to handle the refrigerant side of the system.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Your AC pulls moisture out of the air as it cools, and that water is supposed to drain outside through a condensate line. When that line clogs with algae or dirt, the water backs up and drips inside instead, often near the indoor unit. A frozen coil that then thaws can also flood the drain pan faster than it can drain. Either way, the fix is clearing or repairing the drain system, not the coil itself.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Check the thermostat first, since a dead battery or a setting bumped off cool will stop the system cold. If the thermostat looks fine, check the breaker, since a tripped breaker cuts power to the whole unit. Minneapolis has seen 142 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and wind damage to the outdoor unit or a power surge can knock a system out. If the breaker keeps tripping after you reset it, stop resetting it and have a contractor look at the unit.