Air Conditioning Repair Costs:  Air conditioning is a beautiful thing. If you live in a warm climate and dread the approach of the summer heat, there is no doubt you have invested in an air conditioner or are planning to in the near future. Fans are great, but they simply don’t offer the cooling power of an air conditioner.

Central air conditioning is even more popular as it filters and dehumidifies your air as well, offering a significant improvement in the air quality in your home. The problem with air conditioning is that, like anything else man made, there is the potential for that all important piece of machinery to break down. If you have an air conditioner in your home, it is never a bad idea to have a HVAC repair number close at hand when those warm months arrive just in case.

(Check Out Our Air Conditioning Repair Costs Chart Below)

Many people want to know how much repairs on their air conditioner will cost before they even have the unit installed. It is much easier to plan for emergencies if you have a general idea of how much that emergency is going to cost you. The problem with this thinking is, the cost of repairs will depend greatly on what goes wrong with the unit, whether or not a part needs to be replaced and what unit you have installed.

Estimating the cost of air conditioning repair is difficult because, simply put, there are a lot of things that can go wrong with an air conditioner. Reputable HVAC contractors will likely need to look at the unit to determine the problem and will only be able to give you an estimate on how much it cost to fix it once he or she knows the extent of the problem.

Estimated Air Conditioning Repair Costs:

• Service Calls: Most companies charge from $70 - $140 per hour, with an average charge of about $80 per hour across the US.
• Emergency Service Calls: Emergency Service, typically calls that are made after regular business hours and on weekends, can cost an additional $50-$150 per visit.  If you can wait until regular business hours you will save a lot of money.
• Labor Costs: Labor costs typically run about $50 - $80 per hour.  These costs will typically make up a portion of your repair bill.  The other portion will be made up of “parts cost.”
• Parts Costs: Parts are a variable cost that is difficult to estimate.  There are hundreds of parts that make up your AC unit that it is difficult to know how much you will be charged to complete the repair.  Compressors are common repairs and can cost anywhere from $200 - $450 for the part alone.

Ignoring a problem won’t make it go away. It may cost you a service fee to have someone inspect your air conditioning unit for problems so if it is still technically functioning you may be tempted to ignore the problem, but that minor problem could become a major one if it is ignored. Emergency air conditioning repair is much more expensive that a standard repair, so it is best to avoid letting a small problem become an emergency.

Avoid HVAC companies that charge one flat rate for repairs. You want to know exactly how much of the fee you are being charged is for parts and how much is for labor. If you do a little research in advance, you can get a basic idea of what most common parts in your air conditioner will cost with a simple online search. Of course most of us don’t know what parts to even look for, but the internet can help with that too.

Look up the make and model of your air conditioner (you can find that in the manual that came with the air conditioner or, in most cases, on the unit itself) and look for a website that offers a list of the parts in the unit. In most cases, you will not only be able to find the parts list, but also what most commonly needs to be replaced and how much those parts cost. Not all ‘fixed rate’ companies will overcharge you, but in general, it is best to go with someone that will tell you exactly what you are being charged and what you are being charged it for.