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AC Not Cooling Enough
in Tallahassee, FL
When your AC runs all day but your house still feels like a sauna, something is wrong. Tallahassee summers are brutal, with heat indexes well above 100 degrees from June through September, and a system that's even slightly off won't keep up. If you leave this alone, your electric bill climbs, your equipment wears out faster, and the people inside get miserable.
Quick Answer
In Tallahassee summers, heat and humidity can push past 95 degrees for weeks at a stretch. When your AC runs constantly but can't keep up, it's usually low refrigerant, a dirty coil, or a system that's too small for the house. A technician needs to check the refrigerant charge and airflow before you spend another month paying high electric bills. Call (850) 907-7205 to schedule an inspection.
Telltale Signs
Warning Signs to Watch For
- The thermostat is set to 72 but the house never gets below 78
- The AC runs for hours without shutting off
- Rooms at the far end of the house are noticeably warmer than rooms near the unit
- The air coming out of the vents feels weak or barely cool
- Your electric bill jumped up but nothing else in the house changed
- The outdoor unit is running but you can hear it struggling or cycling oddly
Root Causes
What Causes AC Not Cooling Enough?
Low Refrigerant Charge
Refrigerant is the fluid that actually moves heat out of your house. When the level is low, usually because of a slow leak, the system can't pull enough heat out of the indoor air. In Tallahassee's long cooling season, a small leak that starts in April can leave you with almost no cooling by July.
The Fix
Leak Detection and Refrigerant Recharge
A technician finds the leak, repairs it, and refills the refrigerant to the correct level. Just adding refrigerant without fixing the leak means you'll be back in the same spot in a few months.
Dirty Evaporator Coil
The evaporator coil sits inside your air handler and pulls heat out of the air passing over it. Over time, dust and mold coat the coil and act like insulation, blocking heat transfer. Tallahassee's high humidity makes mold growth on coils especially common, and a coated coil can cut cooling capacity by a third.
The Fix
Evaporator Coil Cleaning
A technician cleans the coil with a foaming cleaner and rinses it thoroughly. A clean coil transfers heat the way it's supposed to and also helps reduce the musty smell some homeowners notice from their vents.
Undersized AC System
A lot of homes in the Killearn Estates and Summerbrooke areas were built in the 1980s and 1990s before current energy standards. When those houses got additions or new insulation removed, the original AC was sometimes left in place. A unit sized for 1,400 square feet simply cannot cool 2,000 square feet no matter how well it's maintained.
The Fix
Load Calculation and System Replacement
A proper sizing calculation accounts for the square footage, ceiling height, window area, and insulation in your specific home. Replacing the unit with one matched to your actual load is the only real fix.
Self-Diagnosis
Which Cause Applies to You?
Check the signs you're observing to narrow down the likely root cause before your inspection.
| What You're Seeing | Low Refrigerant Charge | Dirty Evaporator Coil | Undersized AC System |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ice forming on the refrigerant lines or indoor coil | |||
| Musty or moldy smell coming from the vents when AC runs | |||
| System runs fine in mild weather but falls behind on the hottest days | |||
| Hissing or bubbling sound near the outdoor unit | |||
| Airflow feels weak at every vent in the house | |||
| House won't cool below 78 even at night when it's 85 outside |
Free Inspection
Get a Diagnosis in Tallahassee
An on-site inspection is the only way to confirm which cause applies to your property. Free, no obligation.
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