AC Repair in Portland, OR
Air conditioners here run from August through August. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Multnomah County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Multnomah County doesn't ask much of your air conditioner
Summer afternoons here average 76°F, mild by most standards. Your air conditioner only really has one month where it earns its keep, and the rest of the year it mostly sits.
That kind of light duty doesn't wear a system out the way heat waves do elsewhere. When something goes wrong with an AC in this county, it's usually not from the unit working too hard. It's more likely a part that sat unused, a refrigerant leak that finally caught up, or a control that failed on its own.
- 1 months
- August through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 76°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 17 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 Multnomah County, so the repair decision comes down to the unit's condition.
Estimates for a typical Multnomah County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Oregon 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.
Oregon requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Construction Contractors Board licenses the contractor, not the individual repair. That license stays on file with the state, tied to that business. It covers whatever work they do for you, this job and the next one. Oregon carves out one exception. If the repair comes to less than $1,000, the person doing it does not need to hold that license.
Most air conditioner repairs mean opening the refrigerant line. That part of the job answers to a different rule. Anyone who touches the refrigerant side of your system, in Oregon or anywhere else, has to hold EPA Section 608 certification. That is a federal requirement, separate from the state license. Refrigerant is the part of the job a homeowner cannot check for themselves, so that certification is what stands behind it here.
Source: Oregon Legislative Assembly
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- The most common cause is low refrigerant from a leak somewhere in the line. It can also mean the compressor has failed, or the filter is so clogged that not enough air is moving across the indoor coil to pick up cold. A contractor needs EPA Section 608 certification just to open the refrigerant side and check the charge, so this isn't a repair to attempt yourself.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Usually the drain line is clogged and condensation is backing up instead of draining outside. It can also mean the indoor coil has frozen and is now melting, which points to low airflow or low refrigerant. A dirty filter is often behind both problems, since it restricts the air that keeps the coil at the right temperature.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat batteries and the breaker before assuming the worst. If those are fine, the capacitor or the contactor inside the outdoor unit may have failed, and neither is something to test yourself since they hold a charge even with the power off. A contractor can check these in one visit and price the repair once they know what's wrong.