AC Repair and HVAC Service in Hudson, FL

In the county's older Local Mitigation Strategy, the Hudson repetitive-loss area, Repetitive Loss Area No. 1, was located west of U.S. 19 and east of the Gulf of Mexico. A condenser on a ground-level pad, a furnace or air handler in a low closet, and the wiring that feeds them are all exposed to flooding and to salt.

Canals, drainage and the Gulf

Flood zones and ground elevation

Older homes on canals

Storms that have already reached Hudson

Power, wiring and inspections after a flood

The Florida Building Code, Residential, requires heating, ventilating and air conditioning equipment and duct systems to be located at or above the elevation required in Section R322.2 or R322.3. When we price out or plan a replacement in a low-lying part of Hudson, location is part of the plan from the start.

Hudson is unincorporated, so building permits for AC work come from Pasco County Building Construction Services, not from a city. To apply for a permit in Pasco County's online PascoGateway, an applicant must register an account and have license(s) linked to it or have delegation permissions to a licensed account. As a licensed Florida contractor (CAC-1822618), Blume works within that licensed-contractor process.

Pasco County permit rules that touch AC work:

• "Air conditioning repair of existing equipment" is among the work that does not require a building permit.
• That exemption list does not apply to any buildings or parcels located in special Flood Hazard Areas (Flood Zones).
• Any change in a building, electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing system that involves an extension, addition or change to the original installation requires a permit.
• For improvements to properties in a Special Flood Hazard Area, a FEMA Substantial Improvement Package is required.
• After storms, a permit is needed for any storm-related building and repairs.

Given Hudson's flood zones, the exemption for repairs may not cover a given property. Before work starts, ask whether the parcel is in a Special Flood Hazard Area. Our guide to HVAC permits in Florida goes through the general process, and the county's own offices have the final say on what your address needs.

Tampa's July normals are an average high of 91.0 degrees, a low of 76.6 degrees, 7.75 inches of precipitation, zero heating degree days and 583 cooling degree days. A July with no heating demand and a long cooling load means the AC runs hard, and a mid-summer failure is a real problem rather than an inconvenience. Our AC maintenance checklist for Florida covers the things you can look after between visits.

Blume Mechanical Service is a Class A licensed Florida mechanical contractor, working on residential and commercial buildings. Our office is in Belleair Bluffs. Our scope covers design-build, maintenance, repair, installation and replacement. Blume installs and services all major brands as a licensed contractor. Blume has EPA Section 608 certified technicians, the federal credential for handling refrigerant.

Here is how a typical visit goes:

1. You call. A person answers the 24/7 dispatch line. Same-day response available based on location and technician availability.
2. The technician diagnoses the system. That means checking the outdoor unit, the indoor unit, the drain, the electrical connections and the airflow, and finding the cause rather than swapping parts. On a Hudson coastal property this includes looking for corrosion and for signs the system has been wet.
3. You get an explanation. We tell you what failed, why it failed and what your options are. When both repair and replacement make sense, we lay them side by side so you can compare them.
4. Replacement is sized, not guessed. For homes, we size equipment with an ACCA Manual J load calculation and select it with Manual S, instead of matching whatever was there before. We do not sell equipment a building does not need.
5. New systems are commissioned. We measure static pressure, airflow and refrigerant charge and document them.

Call soon if any of these happen:

• The system runs but the house will not cool, or the air from the vents is warm.
• Ice forms on the refrigerant lines or the indoor coil.
• Water appears around the indoor unit, or the drain pan or condensate line backs up.
• The outdoor unit hums or clicks but does not start, or the breaker trips repeatedly.
• You smell burning, or there is any sign of sparking or scorching.
• The system, the outdoor unit or the wiring has been under water.

For that last one, do not restart the system yourself. Have the electrical side checked, then have the equipment looked at.