AC Repair in Ybor City, Tampa, FL

If the lights, the refrigerator and the air conditioning all went off together, the problem is probably the electric service, not the AC. Tampa Electric describes itself as the primary power provider in Hillsborough County, and it publishes an interactive outage map. Check the name on your power bill, then check that utility's map or report the outage to it.

If only the air conditioning is off, the rest of the house has power and the checks below are the next step.

If the power is back but the AC still will not start, or the outdoor unit hums without starting, leave it off and call a licensed contractor.

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

1. Thermostat. ENERGY STAR lists checking thermostat settings as part of a normal check-up. Confirm Cool mode, a set temperature below the room reading and the fan on Auto. Replace the batteries if the screen is faint or blank.
2. Air filter. ENERGY STAR says to inspect, clean or change air filters once a month, and warns that a dirty filter can damage equipment and lead to early failure. In a small cottage or apartment, the filter may be in a return grille in a wall or ceiling, or in a slot at the indoor unit.
3. Drain pan. ENERGY STAR says a plugged condensate drain can cause water damage and affect indoor humidity. If the pan under the indoor unit is full, leave the system off.
4. Outdoor unit. The outdoor unit is called the condenser. With the system off, pull leaves, trash and anything stored against it away by hand.
5. Ice. Ice on the copper lines or the indoor coil means turn cooling off and run the fan alone until it thaws, then call.

Do not open the outdoor unit's electrical panel, do not add refrigerant, and do not crawl under a raised house to pull at ducts or wiring.

The City of Tampa's Ybor City Design Guidelines split the historic district into six subdistricts, each with its own rules. This page looks at three of the building types the guidelines describe. These are patterns that follow from how the buildings were built, not statistics from our service calls.

Raised wood cottages

The guidelines say the Residential (YC-2), General Commercial (YC-5) and South Community Commercial (YC-6) subdistricts are characterized by neighborhoods of one- and two-story wood frame houses built for cigar workers. Wood lattice between the piers is the typical way the crawl space is screened. Some residences have brick walls instead, and the guidelines also accept iron lattice and masonry. If your indoor unit or ducts are under the floor, the technician needs a way in through that screening. Tell us when you call whether there is an access panel or a gate in the lattice.

The guidelines also note that some of these homes have a kitchen ell to the rear, and in most cases bathrooms were added after the house was built. If the back of the house is the warm part, mention it when you call.

Apartments above a shop

According to the guidelines, other neighborhood commercial structures are built with wood balloon framing, limited to two stories, and their upper stories provide for residential occupancy. In a building like that, the equipment serving your apartment may sit on a roof, in a closet, or at ground level behind the building. If you rent, tell the building owner or manager the AC is down. A technician may need roof or yard access that only they can give.

Flat roofs in the commercial core

The guidelines say roofs in the Central Commercial Core (YC-1) tend to be flat, built-up roofs with parapets, the low walls along the roof edge. Equipment behind a parapet is out of sight from the street, which also means a problem up there can go unnoticed. Water pooling around a rooftop unit, or a unit that runs without cooling, is worth a call.

The National Weather Service's Tampa normals for 1991 to 2020 put the average July high at 91.0°F and the average July low at 76.6°F.

The same normals give Tampa 7.75 inches of rain in an average July. ENERGY STAR says a plugged drain can cause water damage in the house and affect indoor humidity levels. Our guide to an AC leaking water explains the signs, and the guide to an AC that is not turning on covers a system that will not start at all.

ENERGY STAR's maintenance checklist covers tightening electrical connections, measuring voltage and current on motors, and checking the controls and starting cycle. It also lists cleaning the evaporator coil (the indoor cooling coil) and the condenser coil, and checking the refrigerant level. Refrigerant is the fluid that carries heat out of the house.

Refrigerant work is regulated. The EPA says technicians who maintain, service, repair or dispose of equipment that could release ozone-depleting refrigerants must be certified under Section 608 of the Clean Air Act. Blume has EPA Section 608 certified technicians.

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

Blume lays out repair and replacement options 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.

Two City of Tampa offices are worth asking about before a replacement in Ybor City. The City's Construction Services Division provides all building permit and inspection services in the City. Separately, the Barrio Latino Commission is the Ybor City Historic District Commission. Under the City code, the Architectural Review Commission and the Barrio Latino Commission approve or disapprove plans for alterations, demolitions, relocations or new construction in the City's locally designated historic landmarks and historic districts. For projects heard at a public hearing, the site plan must show mechanical equipment, including heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment.

Only the owner or an authorized agent can apply to the commission. The City recommends contacting its Architectural Review & Historic Preservation staff when first thinking about a project, before drawings. Their number is (813) 274-3100, option 3.

For the decision itself, see how to decide between AC repair and replacement, and for the statewide rules see our Florida HVAC permit guide. Our Ybor City HVAC page covers the district in more depth, and we also have a page on 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 building lost power or only the AC.
• Whether you live in a cottage, an upstairs apartment or a unit in a larger building.
• Where the indoor unit is: a closet, under the floor, or somewhere you cannot reach.
• Where the outdoor unit is, and whether it is on a roof or behind a locked gate.
• What the thermostat is set to and what it reads.
• Any ice, water in the pan, burning smell or unusual noise.
• If you rent, the building owner's or manager's contact details.