In a Florida summer, air conditioning is not a comfort issue. A failed system in August is an emergency, and it is treated as one.
Air conditioning is the most-called-about system in Florida rental property by a wide margin, and the failure pattern is predictable: condensate problems in the wet season, capacitors and contactors in the heat, and compressors at the end of a system's life.
Most of it is avoidable. A system that is serviced twice a year fails far less often than one that is left until it stops, and the difference in cost across a portfolio over a few years is not marginal.
Condensate blockages. The single most common call. An algae-blocked drain line backs up, the safety switch trips the system off, and if there is no switch the water finds a ceiling instead. Preventable with a flush at each service.
Capacitor and contactor failure. Cheap parts, and a very common reason a system will not start on the hottest day of the year. Usually a same-visit fix if the part is on the van.
Low refrigerant. A system does not consume refrigerant, so low charge means a leak. Topping up without finding the leak is a repeat call-out at your expense, so we locate it first.
Frozen coils. Almost always airflow: a blocked filter, a dirty evaporator, or ductwork that has come apart in the attic. The ice is the symptom.
Duct losses. Attic ductwork that has separated or lost its insulation can waste a large share of the cooling produced. Worth checking on any property where the system runs constantly and never quite gets there.
Florida runs air conditioning for most of the year, which is roughly double the duty cycle of a northern state. Two services a year — typically before the summer and again in autumn — keeps the drain clear, the coils clean and the electrical components checked before they are under load.
There is an insurance dimension too. HVAC is one of the four systems on a four-point inspection, and a system that will not run on the day of the inspection cannot be passed. A serviced system with a record behind it is a straightforward pass.
Beyond about fifteen years, repair economics turn. A failed compressor on an old system generally means replacement, and there is little point spending on a unit that will be flagged at the next inspection anyway.
Where we quote a replacement we will say what is driving it — age, efficiency, the specific failure — and what a repair would buy you if you would rather wait. On a rental the calculation is different from an owner-occupied home, and the timing usually wants to fall between tenancies rather than in August.
We cover the whole state. These are the metros we work in most often — each page covers the local housing stock, code position and insurance context.
In summer we treat total failures as same-day where we can. A property with vulnerable occupants or no cooling at all goes to the front of the list.
Twice a year in Florida. The duty cycle is roughly double a northern state's and the wet season makes condensate blockages a near-certainty without a flush.
Usually airflow rather than the unit: a blocked filter, a dirty evaporator coil, or separated ductwork in the attic. Occasionally it is low refrigerant from a leak. All are diagnosable on one visit.
Under about ten years, repair. Past fifteen, replacement is usually the better spend, particularly if the failure is the compressor. Between the two it depends on the specific fault and what the system has already cost you.
One number for the inspection and for whatever it turns up. Licensed, insured contractors across Florida.