Air conditioning: check it, repair it, or replace it?

Five-minute checks before you pay anyone

A real share of “weak cooling” calls end at one of these. Run through them before booking a visit:

• Thermostat set to COOL, fan on AUTO, and set below room temperature. Fresh batteries if it takes them.
• Filter. A clogged filter starves the indoor coil of air and can freeze it. Replace it and let the system run.
• Outdoor unit clear of leaves, grass clippings and anything stacked against it, with the fan turning when the system calls for cooling.
• Power. The breaker at the panel and the disconnect box beside the outdoor unit. Reset a tripped breaker once; if it trips again, stop.
• Condensate. A full drain pan trips a float switch that shuts the system down. Water around the indoor unit is the tell.

The troubleshooting guide walks through each of these, plus warm air, ice on the lines and water leaking inside.

What a refrigerant “top-up” really means

An air conditioner is a sealed system. It does not use refrigerant up. If it is low, it has a leak, and adding refrigerant without finding and repairing the leak buys weeks, not years — and you pay for the same refrigerant again next summer.

Refrigerant handling is not a homeowner job, and not only for safety reasons: under Section 608 of the Clean Air Act (40 CFR Part 82, Subpart F) anyone who services equipment that could release refrigerant must hold EPA Section 608 certification. Ask a technician who proposes a recharge three things: where is the leak, what is the repair, and what refrigerant does the system use.

The refrigerant matters to the repair-or-replace question. R-22 has been out of production and import in the United States since 2020 under the EPA phase-out, so an R-22 system is repaired with reclaimed stock at whatever it costs that month. Since 1 January 2025 the EPA's technology-transitions rule under the AIM Act has required newly manufactured residential air-conditioning and heat-pump systems to use refrigerants with a global-warming potential below 700 (R-454B and R-32 are the common ones), so a new system will use a different refrigerant from the one it replaces. None of that makes a working system obsolete; it does mean a quote that mixes old and new components deserves a question.

Repair or replace: how to compare fairly

Get both numbers in writing, from the same contractor if possible, and then compare like with like:

• Age and refrigerant type from the data plate on the outdoor unit.
• The repair: part, labor, refrigerant by the pound if any, and the warranty on the repair.
• The replacement: model numbers, SEER2 rating, and the total installed price with permit, electrical and haul-away included.

Two things the trade does not always volunteer. First, Oregon does not require you to replace an air conditioner with a heat pump; the 2026 provision is for new dwellings only. Second, a heat pump condensing unit is physically the same kind of equipment as an AC condensing unit, and it adds heating — so if you are replacing anyway, ask for both prices side by side and decide on the numbers. Angi's Portland heat-pump figure is $4,763–$9,116, average $6,915; the cost page has the other published ranges and does not carry an AC-only figure, because the guides that publish one rarely say what is included.

Before you book a service call

1. What is the diagnostic fee, and is it credited against the repair?
2. What is your CCB number? Check it.
3. Will the repair be quoted in writing before work starts?
4. What is the warranty on the part and on the labor?
5. If refrigerant is added, is the leak being repaired, and is the refrigerant itemised?

A capacitor is one of the most common outdoor-unit failures and one of the quickest repairs; a compressor is one of the most expensive. Knowing which you are being quoted for, and why, is the whole game.

Nearby

Sources. Cost ranges are quoted from the published 2026 guides named on the cost page (Angi Portland; Costadia Portland 2026; a 2026 national guide), as verified there on 23 September 2026. Incentive figures and equipment conditions are from Energy Trust of Oregon information sheets PI 0320I v2026.5 and PI 0320I-HP v2026.4 (both revised 9 September 2026), IRS guidance on Public Law 119-21, and Oregon Department of Energy program pages, as verified on the rebate page. Code language is quoted from the Oregon Building Codes Division technical summary First-Stage Heat Pump — 2026 ORSC Provisions Summary. License facts are from the State of Oregon CCB Active Licenses open dataset g77e-6bhs. This page is general information, not a bid, a code ruling or tax advice. Refrigerant rules: EPA, Clean Air Act Section 608 (40 CFR Part 82 Subpart F); EPA R-22 phase-out; EPA Technology Transitions rule under the AIM Act.