Emergency AC and Heating Repair in Lakeland
No cooling in a July heat wave or no heat on a January cold night: same-day visits when we can, with the after-hours rate told to you first.
Emergency AC and heating repair in Lakeland mostly means two kinds of night: a July or August heat wave when the air conditioner quits and the house climbs toward 90 degrees, and the handful of nights each winter when it drops near freezing and the heat pump stops heating. In both cases the house can become unsafe to stay in, and the call goes to the front of the list.
What happens when you call
When you call outside normal hours, you talk to someone who asks what the system is doing and who is in the house. You hear how soon a tech can be there and what the after-hours visit costs before you book it. If the problem can safely wait until morning, we say so, because an emergency rate should only be spent when it is needed.
Same-day visits are our aim when the call comes in early enough, and in a heat wave we work through the evening when we can. On the busiest days, when half of Polk County is calling about the same heat, we tell you the honest arrival window instead of a time we cannot keep.
The most common emergency calls
- No cooling in a heat wave. Often a failed capacitor, a burned contactor or a tripped breaker. These are quick fixes once found, and the part is usually on the van.
- AC frozen solid. Ice on the lines or the indoor coil from a clogged filter, a dirty coil or low refrigerant. The system has to thaw before it can be tested, so we tell you how to start that before we arrive.
- Water pouring from the indoor unit. A clogged condensate drain or a cracked pan can soak a closet, a ceiling or a garage floor fast. Turn the system off and we clear it.
- No heat on a freezing night. A heat pump stuck in defrost, failed heat strips or a furnace that will not light.
- Power came back and the AC did not. Summer storms drop the power across the area, and the surge when it returns can damage a capacitor, a contactor or a control board.
What to do while you wait
For no cooling, turn the system off at the thermostat if the outdoor unit is buzzing with the fan still, close the blinds on the sunny side, run fans, and keep people and pets in the coolest room. For a frozen system, turn cooling off and set the fan to on to speed the thaw. For water from the indoor unit, turn the system off and move anything that can be damaged. For no heat, switch the thermostat to emergency heat if it has that setting.
If you smell gas near a furnace or anywhere in the house, do not touch any switches. Leave the house and call the gas company or 911 from outside.
Getting you through the night
Sometimes the full repair needs a part we do not carry, like a specific motor or a control board. In that case the tech gets the system running safely in the meantime wherever possible, such as cooling with a temporary part, heating on backup strips, or a drain line cleared so the system can run while a new pan is ordered. You hear the price of the temporary fix and the full repair before any work starts.
Fewer emergencies next year
Many emergency calls start as small problems that a tune-up would have caught: a weak capacitor, a drain line half full of algae, a dirty coil. A spring tune-up before the heat and a fall check before the cold make a night call much less likely. Members of our maintenance plan also get priority scheduling when something does break.
For problems that can wait for a weekday, see our AC repair and heating repair pages. We answer emergency calls throughout Lakeland, Winter Haven and Plant City.
Where we work
- Emergency repair in Lakeland, FLFrom the older bungalows around Lake Morton to the newer subdivisions off the Polk Parkway, we repair, tune up and replace heating and cooling systems across the city.
- Emergency repair in Winter Haven, FLLakefront homes and long humid summers around the Chain of Lakes keep air conditioners running hard, so we check the drain line and the coils on every visit.
- Emergency repair in Plant City, FLRanch homes, older duct runs in hot attics and summer storms that knock the power out and strain the compressor when it comes back on.
Guides
Questions about emergency repair
What counts as an emergency?
No cooling in a heat wave, especially with an infant, an older person or someone with a health condition in the house. No heat on a freezing night. Water pouring from the indoor unit, a burning smell, or a gas smell near a furnace. For a gas smell, leave the house first and call the gas company or 911.
How much more does an after-hours visit cost?
An evening, weekend or holiday visit costs more than a weekday one. You hear the exact rate on the phone before you book, so you can decide whether it is worth it tonight or whether the morning will do.
Will you tell me if it can wait until morning?
Yes. If the house is safe and the problem will not get worse overnight, such as a mild night with a failed AC and fans running, we say so and book the first weekday slot instead.
What if the part I need is not on the van?
We get the system running safely in the meantime wherever we can, for example cooling with a temporary capacitor or heating on backup strips, and come back with the part. You hear the price of both visits before we start.
