AC Repair in Lithia, FL

Before anyone opens the equipment, find out whether the house has power.

Check which company sends your electric bill

If the lights and the refrigerator are off too, the problem is the power supply. Tampa Electric says it serves Hillsborough County and parts of Pasco, Pinellas and Polk counties. Peace River Electric Cooperative, a not-for-profit cooperative based in Wauchula, lists Hillsborough among the ten Florida counties where it serves members.

Look at your bill to see which one supplies your home, and report a whole-house outage to that company. Tampa Electric's website has a Report an Outage link. Peace River Electric Cooperative lists its outage line as (800) 282-3824.

If only the air conditioner is off, go to the checks below.

If it stopped during a storm

The National Weather Service Tampa Bay office says the rainy season brings heavy rainfall and frequent lightning. If the AC quit in a storm while the rest of the house kept power, leave it off and call a licensed contractor. Tell the technician when it happened. Our page on AC surge protection in Florida covers storm damage to equipment.

None of these needs tools or a panel removed. Stop at any step that feels unsafe.

1. Thermostat. ENERGY STAR's checklist says to check thermostat settings to ensure the cooling and heating system keeps you comfortable when you are home. It should be on Cool, set lower than the room reading, with the fan on Auto. A blank display may only need fresh batteries.
2. Breaker. Find the breakers for the indoor air handler and the outdoor unit. If one has tripped, leave it off and call a licensed contractor.
3. Filter. ENERGY STAR says to inspect, clean or change central air filters once a month. It warns that a dirty filter can damage equipment and lead to early failure.
4. Outdoor unit. Turn the system off at the thermostat first. Then pull grass, leaves and storm litter away from the cabinet by hand.
5. Drain pan. Look at the pan under the indoor unit. Trane, an equipment maker, says an overflow switch that senses a potential condensate overflow will shut down the outdoor compressor and condenser fan. A full pan, or a system that shut itself off, means leave it off and call.
6. Ice. Ice on the copper lines or the indoor coil is a reason to switch cooling off and call a licensed contractor.

Keep the outdoor unit's electrical compartment closed, leave the capacitor alone and never add refrigerant. Those jobs belong to a licensed contractor.

These are patterns that follow from the climate, not statistics from our service calls.

The figures below are NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals for its Plant City station. Plant City is also in Hillsborough County. Treat the numbers as a guide for the area, not readings taken in Lithia itself.

Long, hot afternoons

At the Plant City station, the normal daily high is 92.9°F in June, 93.8°F in July, 93.5°F in August and 92.1°F in September. The station averages about 111 days a year at 90°F or above. About 69 of those days fall in June, July and August.

The normal low stays at 73.4°F in July and 73.7°F in August, so summer nights stay warm as well.

Heavy summer rain

Normal rainfall at the station is 9.71 inches in June, 8.65 inches in July, 8.85 inches in August and 6.99 inches in September. June through August alone normally brings 27.21 inches, close to half of the station's normal yearly total of 56.11 inches.

The Weather Service says July through early September is when the rainy season peaks. It says heavy rainfall and seasonal river flooding remain significant hazards then, along with frequent lightning.

The condensate drain

An air conditioner pulls water out of indoor air and sends it down a drain line. ENERGY STAR says a plugged drain can cause water damage in the house and affect indoor humidity levels. Trane says that if a system with a condensate drain switch suddenly shuts off in the heat of the day, a clogged condensate line or clogged condensate pan may be to blame. Our guide to an AC leaking water covers the signs.

The coils

ENERGY STAR says dirty coils reduce a system's ability to cool the home. Its checklist covers both the evaporator coil indoors and the condenser coil outside. For more on a system that runs all afternoon and still falls behind, see when the AC can't keep up with the heat.

ENERGY STAR's checklist says to check your central air conditioner's refrigerant level and adjust if necessary. It also says to tighten all electrical connections, measure voltage and current on motors, and check controls of the system to ensure proper and safe operation.

ENERGY STAR says faulty electrical connections can cause unsafe operation and reduce the life of major components. It says too much or too little refrigerant makes a system less efficient. Blume has EPA Section 608 certified technicians, the federal refrigerant-handling credential.

You get a written, upfront price before any work starts.

Lithia is unincorporated, so county offices do the work a city hall would do elsewhere. A Hillsborough County project page lists "Unincorporated Balm, Keysville, Lithia and Wimauma" among the areas it reaches. The county also runs local road work, such as its resurfacing project on Lithia Pinecrest Road from South County Road 39 to Highway 640.

For building work, Hillsborough County Development Services provides permitting, development review and building inspection services for all of unincorporated Hillsborough County. The county says building and subtrade permits are done on its HillsGovHub online system.

Inspections for an AC replacement

An AC changeout is the county's term for replacing the system. The county's virtual inspection table lists a final mechanical inspection and a final electrical inspection as necessary for an AC changeout. It says certain inspections can be done through the VuSpex GO app without meeting an inspector in person.

Ask the county, or your contractor, whether a particular repair needs a permit before the work starts. Our Lithia HVAC page covers the Alafia River and flood rules, and our guide to the Florida HVAC permit covers the statewide rules.

Blume puts repair and replacement numbers side by side and does not sell equipment a building does not need.

When replacement is the answer, Blume sizes the system with an ACCA Manual J load calculation and Manual S equipment selection, instead of copying the old unit's size. New equipment is commissioned with measured static pressure, airflow and refrigerant charge. Financing is available through Synchrony Bank.

For the decision itself, see how to decide between AC repair and replacement. Nearby, we also have pages on AC replacement in Brandon and AC repair in Tampa.

Blume Mechanical Service, LLC is a Class A licensed Florida air conditioning contractor (license CAC-1822618) and is fully insured. We are brand-agnostic and service all major manufacturers' equipment. Our office is at 2840 West Bay Drive #114, Belleair Bluffs, FL 33770, and our core service area is Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco counties.

What to have ready when you call

• Whether the whole house lost power or only the AC, and which electric company bills you.
• Whether the system stopped during a thunderstorm, after one, or on a dry day.
• What the thermostat is set to and what it reads.
• Whether the outdoor unit and the indoor blower are running.
• Water in the pan, ice on the lines, a burning smell or a new noise.
• Where the air handler sits: a closet, the garage or the attic.