Nine months of cooling
AC units in Corpus Christi run from March through November. That's most of the year spent cycling on and off to keep up.
AC Repair in Corpus Christi, TX
Tell us about the job
Takes about a minute. No obligation.
Step 1 of 3: Equipment
94 degrees in the afternoon
June, July and August bring afternoon highs averaging 94°F. The compressor and fan motor work against that heat every one of those afternoons, week after week.
- 9 months
- March through November, your air conditioner is on duty
- 94°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 16 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 85 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Texas households paid 14.94 cents per kilowatthour in 2024, among the highest rates in the country.
A struggling AC unit burns through that expensive power every afternoon it runs, so a repair delayed is a bill that keeps climbing.
A unit that's struggling now will cost you every afternoon until it's fixed
Nueces County saw 127 severe weather events between 2015 and 2024, most of it wind. Wind throws branches and debris into an outdoor unit and bends the fins on the coil without leaving a mark you'd notice from the yard. Hail dents a cabinet or chips a fan blade the same quiet way, and the damage doesn't show up as a problem until the unit is already struggling with it. Tropical storms and tornadoes have come through the county too. If your AC has been acting up since the last storm, that timing is worth mentioning to whoever comes out, even if the unit never stopped running.
Get it diagnosed properly
Your air conditioner works hard here, and that's usually what's behind the problem. Have it diagnosed properly so the fix lasts.
Find a contractor
Nine months of this adds up
That workload doesn't stop for nine months. It wears on a compressor in a way a shorter season never would, and it doesn't announce itself until something gives out on a 94 degree afternoon. If your AC is struggling now, get a contractor out to find what's actually worn before you decide whether it's worth fixing.
A dirty condenser coil makes everything work harder
The outdoor coil needs airflow to dump heat from the refrigerant. When it's coated in dirt, pollen or grass clippings, the system can't shed that heat, so the compressor runs longer and hotter to do the same job. Left alone, that extra strain is what ends a compressor early.
A failing capacitor often looks like a dead unit
The capacitor gives the compressor and fan motor the jolt they need to start. When it weakens, the outdoor unit may hum but not start, or the fan may spin slow. It's a small part and a quick check, but if it's not caught, the motor it was supposed to protect ends up taking the damage instead.
A new air conditioner would cut about $100 a year off cooling for a typical Nueces County home.
Estimates for a typical Nueces County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Texas 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.
A diagnostic visit starts outside at the condenser. The tech checks that the fan spins freely and the coil is clear of dirt and debris. Then comes the electrical side, the capacitor, the contactor, the wiring, looking for the weak part before it takes something bigger down with it. Refrigerant charge gets checked too, since too little or too much both make the compressor work wrong. Inside, the tech checks the evaporator coil and the airflow moving across it, because a problem there can look exactly like a problem outside. Each reading either points at a part or rules it out, and that's what tells you whether you're looking at a quick fix or a system near the end of its life.
