AC problems
AC Not Cooling
Running, blowing, and the house is still 80. The usual causes, in order.
An AC that runs but does not cool is the commonest complaint in a Houston summer, and the causes sort themselves roughly by how cheap they are. The cheapest is a filter so clogged the system cannot move air; check that first. Next is a condenser outside choked with grass clippings, cottonwood fluff or pine needles, which cannot shed heat and so cannot cool. Next is a frozen evaporator coil, which is itself a symptom of low airflow or low refrigerant.
After those come the real repairs: a refrigerant leak, which lets the system run and run while the charge slowly drops; a failing compressor, which hums and pulls current but no longer pumps; or a system that is simply undersized for a house that has had an addition, a sunroom or a loft conversion since it was installed.
There is also the Houston-specific case: a system that is working exactly as designed and still cannot hold 72 at four in the afternoon in August, because the attic is 140 degrees and the ducts run through it. That is not a repair. It is insulation, duct sealing or a bigger system, and an honest contractor will say which.
What it looks like
- Air from the vents that is cool but not cold
- The thermostat set to 74 and the house sitting at 79 all afternoon
- Ice on the copper line at the outdoor unit
- The system never switching off
Whatever the problem turns out to be, the first step is the same: describe it, say where the house is, and one independent HVAC contractor working in your town contacts you to look at it. No charge for being connected, and no obligation once he has.
Where
AC Not Cooling across north Houston
Humble
Subdivisions from the seventies to the nineties, so a lot of systems on their second or third replacement, with attic air handlers and original ductwork.
Kingwood
Big two-storey houses from the eighties under full tree cover, with upstairs that runs hot and air handlers in attics that reach 140.
Porter
Fast-growing Montgomery County, with builder-grade systems in the new subdivisions and older country houses on their original equipment.
New Caney
New construction along 59 beside acreage in the pines, with long power runs and surge damage after every storm.
Splendora
Rural lots, manufactured homes and older houses, where package units and window units are as common as central systems.
Crosby
East Harris County, older subdivisions near the lake, open land and salt air, which eats condenser coils faster than anywhere inland.
Dayton
Liberty County, country HVAC: heat pumps on propane-free properties, long drives for the technician, and nobody local to call.
The Woodlands
The biggest HVAC market north of Houston: large houses, often two or three systems each, and covenants on where an outdoor unit can sit.
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AC problem in north Houston?
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