Symptoms
What's wrong with my AC?
Start with the symptom rather than the service. Each page below explains what that symptom usually turns out to be, what you can check yourself for free first, and which ones mean switch it off now.
Today
AC Not Cooling
The system is running, air is coming out, and the house still will not get to the thermostat setting.
What it usually isToday
AC Blowing Warm Air
Air is moving normally but it is warm — which usually means the cooling side has stopped, not the fan.
What it usually isAct now
AC Leaking Water
Water around the indoor unit, or a stain spreading on the ceiling below it — almost always a drain problem, not a refrigerant one.
What it usually isToday
Frozen AC
Ice on the copper line, the indoor coil or the outdoor unit — always caused by one of two things, and neither of them is 'it's cold'.
What it usually isToday
AC Making Noise
The sound tells you a great deal about which component is failing — and which noises mean shut it off now.
What it usually isToday
AC Not Turning On
Nothing happens at all — no fan, no outdoor unit, no click. Several of the causes cost nothing to rule out.
What it usually isNot urgent
High Electric Bill
In a Florida home the air conditioning is most of the bill, so a bill that jumps is usually the system telling you something.
What it usually isNot sure which one you have?
Describe what the system is doing — the noise, the smell, when it started, whether air is still coming out — and we will tell you what it usually is, roughly what it costs, and whether it can wait until morning. That conversation is free and it happens on the phone.
If there is ice anywhere on the system, or water reaching a ceiling, switch it off before you call. Those two are the ones where waiting makes the repair bigger.