AC Repair in Fargo, ND
Air conditioners here run from June through August. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Cass County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Fargo asks a lot from your AC in a short season
Cass County only needs cooling three months a year, June through August, but summer afternoons average 80°F and your air conditioner has to keep up fast when the heat arrives. A unit that sits idle most of the year still has to start up strong the first hot week and run hard through the season.
The bigger risk here is what the weather throws at it. The last ten years brought 109 hail events and 172 damaging wind events to the area, with hail up to 2.5 inches recorded. Hail that size dents the thin aluminum fins on your outdoor coil, and bent fins block airflow the unit needs to cool the house. High winds can knock loose the fan blade or shift the unit on its pad. If your AC is suddenly noisy, or it is running but the air coming out is not as cold as it should be, a storm may be the reason.
- 3 months
- June through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 80°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 109 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 172 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 Cass County, so the repair decision comes down to the unit's condition.
Estimates for a typical Cass County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, North Dakota 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.
North Dakota requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Secretary of State holds that license on the contractor, not the job, so it reflects the company's record rather than any one repair. Work under $4,000 falls outside the requirement, so a smaller repair can legally be done without a licensed contractor.
Whether or not a license applies to your repair, anyone who opens the refrigerant side of your air conditioner has to hold EPA Section 608 certification. That is a federal rule, and it holds in North Dakota the same as it does everywhere else.
Sources: North Dakota Legislative Branch · North Dakota Secretary of State
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- The most common cause is low refrigerant from a leak somewhere in the line set or coil. A dirty air filter or a coil caked with dust can also block airflow enough that the air coming out feels weak or warm. Only a technician with EPA 608 certification can open the refrigerant side to check the charge and find a leak, so this isn't a repair to try yourself.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Usually it's a clogged condensate drain line, which backs up and sends water into the house instead of outside. It can also mean the evaporator coil has frozen and is now thawing and dripping. A dirty air filter is often behind the freezing, since it starves the coil of airflow.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Check the thermostat batteries and the breaker first, since both are common and easy to rule out. If those are fine, the problem is likely inside the unit, like a failed capacitor or a tripped safety switch. Fargo sees plenty of summer storms, and a power surge from one can be enough to trip a switch or damage a component.