AC Repair in Temple Terrace, FL

Temple Terrace covers 7.56 square miles of land and 0.298 square miles of water, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2024 Gazetteer. It was incorporated on May 28, 1925.

The National Park Service's National Register nomination for the Temple Terrace Golf Course traces how the city grew. Its developers used Mediterranean Revival architecture for the community buildings and for the residences. The Depression and a lack of money in the late 1920s and 1930s slowed growth sharply. A local history quoted in the nomination calls 1960 to 1975 the city's biggest building boom, with new subdivisions, apartment buildings and many new homes. Institutional and public buildings from the mid-twentieth century filled in along the original streets and platted lots, between the city's 1920s buildings.

For an air conditioner, that history means one street can hold houses from very different decades. Before judging a repair, a technician needs to know how this system is laid out. That means where the air handler sits, how the ducts run, and what has been added or enclosed since.

These need no tools and no ladder. Stop at anything that feels unsafe.

1. Thermostat. Set it to Cool, a few degrees below the room temperature, with the fan on Auto.
2. Filter. ENERGY STAR advises inspecting, cleaning or changing the air filter once a month. Swap a grey, matted filter for a clean one of the same size.
3. The pan under the indoor unit. Trane notes that a condensate drain line can clog with dirt, debris or mold over time. If the pan holds water, a float switch may have shut the system down on purpose.
4. Under the oaks. Turn the system off at the thermostat first. Then clear leaves, twigs, acorns and moss from the top and sides of the outdoor unit.
5. Ice. Frost on the larger copper line means switch cooling off and run the fan alone until it thaws.

Do not open the outdoor unit's electrical panel, do not touch the capacitor or wiring, and do not add refrigerant. Those jobs belong to a licensed contractor.

The pines that first lined the golf course fairways are mostly gone, the National Park Service nomination says, replaced by sand live oaks. The city is recognized as a Tree City USA. It employs a full-time City Arborist to oversee the preservation of its urban tree canopy.

That matters when a branch hangs over the outdoor unit. City ordinances require permits to prune large limbs and to remove protected and grand trees. On residential land, a protected tree is one of a protected type with a trunk more than ten inches across at breast height that the city code does not otherwise exempt. So before anyone cuts back a big limb above the condenser, ask the city first. The City Arborist offers no-fee inspections to property owners who want to prune or remove trees.

Fallen leaves are a homeowner's job; the coil itself is not. ENERGY STAR lists cleaning the evaporator and condenser coils as part of a maintenance visit. Our guide to cleaning condenser coils explains what that work involves.

NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals for the Tampa International Airport station show an average of 94.3 days a year reaching 90°F or higher. The normal summer high there is 90.9°F and the normal summer low is 76.3°F. Of the station's normal 49.48 inches of yearly rain, 24.15 inches fall in June, July and August. The airport is in Tampa, not Temple Terrace, so read these figures as the regional picture.

The National Weather Service office for the Tampa Bay area describes the rainy season as warm and humid, with frequent showers and thunderstorms. It names frequent lightning among the season's hazards.

Trane notes that a condensate drain line can clog with dirt, debris or mold over time. If the AC quits during a storm while the rest of the house still has power, leave it off and call instead of switching it on and off. Our guide to AC surge protection in Florida covers the electrical side of storm season.

Airflow and the ducts

In a house that has been remodeled or added onto, the ducts may no longer match the rooms they serve. Our guide to duct sealing and duct repair covers the fixes.

The parts that start the motors

A capacitor gives a motor the electrical boost it needs to start, and a contactor is the switch that turns the outdoor unit on. An outdoor unit that hums but will not start can point to either one.

Refrigerant charge

Refrigerant is the fluid that carries heat out of the house. The EPA says major leaks rarely develop in properly installed and regularly maintained units. It tells homeowners to ask the technician to locate and repair a leak instead of topping the system off. The EPA also suggests asking whether a company's technicians are Section 608-certified. Blume has EPA Section 608 certified technicians, the federal refrigerant-handling credential.

The drain and the float switch

Trane describes the float switch as a safety switch that shuts down the system when it detects a certain level of water. See what the AC drain pan does for more.

Age alone does not settle the question; measurements do.

A repair usually makes sense when one part has failed, the rest of the system tests healthy, and the house stayed comfortable until the failure.

Replacement is worth weighing when the compressor has failed, the indoor coil keeps leaking, or each season brings a breakdown in a new place.

In a home that has been added onto, look at the ducts before the equipment. The EPA advises dealing with the big air leaks in the house and the duct system before investing in a new system. Blume sizes replacement equipment with an ACCA Manual J load calculation, the room-by-room method for working out how much cooling a house needs, and selects it with Manual S. We commission it with measured static pressure, airflow and refrigerant charge. You get a written, upfront price before any work starts, with repair and replacement side by side when both make sense. We do not sell equipment a building does not need, and financing is available through Synchrony Bank.

For more on the decision, see how to decide between AC repair and replacement. For permits, flood planning and other HVAC questions in the city, see our Temple Terrace HVAC page.

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.

Useful details for the call

• When the system stopped, and whether a storm was passing at the time.
• What the thermostat is set to and what it reads.
• Whether the outdoor fan 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.
• Roughly when the house was built, and any additions or enclosed porches since.
• Whether a large limb or heavy leaf fall sits over the outdoor unit.