Read before you call, or while you wait for the truck
Two kinds of pages live here: the eight problems that generate most of our Palm Coast calls, and the guides that explain what's particular about keeping a system alive in Flagler County.
The problem pages
Each of the eight symptom pages starts with a table: what you notice, what’s usually causing it in a Palm Coast home, what the fix tends to be, and how urgent it is. Warm air, ice on the lines, short-cycling, a sticky house, a bill that jumped, new noises, water under the air handler, a breaker that trips. These are the calls we take from Indian Trails to the Hammock all summer, and the pages are written from what we actually find.
Use them two ways. Before calling, to decide whether the problem can wait until morning. While waiting, so the technician’s explanation makes sense when the van pulls up. A few of them also tell you what to switch off right now, which matters when water is dripping from an attic air handler onto a Lehigh Woods ceiling or a breaker keeps resetting itself on a July afternoon.
The guides
The guides go deeper on the things that make Flagler County different from a textbook: preparing a system for hurricane season, what the boom-era build-out means for your system’s remaining life, salt air on condensers near the Intracoastal, a walkthrough of the FPL high-efficiency rebate, how SEER2 ratings translate for a typical Palm Coast ranch, the ITT-era ductwork question, where to put an outdoor unit relative to a pool cage and lanai, the September drain-line problem, sizing a two-story in Grand Haven, and making a system generator-ready after Milton.
How we write them
Every word here originates on Fairmont Lane, written with technicians who see these houses daily. There’s no national content feed behind it. When FPL changes its rebate rules, when a storm season rewrites what we know about flooding on the Palm Harbor canals, or when a new refrigerant changes the replacement math, the relevant guide gets updated. If a page is wrong or out of date, tell us and it will be fixed.
How to get the most from these pages
Can I fix any of these problems myself?
Some. A clogged filter, a tripped float switch after a storm, a thermostat with dead batteries. The problem pages say which ones are safe to try and where to stop; anything involving refrigerant, the breaker or the compressor is a call.
Are the guides written for Palm Coast specifically?
Yes. They deal with this city’s salt air, its 2004-to-2007 housing boom, FPL’s rebate program, Flagler County storm seasons and the pool cages most homes here have. A generic guide would skip all of that.
What if my symptom isn't listed?
Call 866-266-5709 and describe it. Dispatch hears every variation, and if a new one keeps coming up from Palm Coast we’ll write the page.
- ProblemBreaker keeps trippingTwo homeowners, two tripped breakers, two right answers. The decision tree.
- ProblemFrozen coil or iced linesA block of ice in a 90-degree garage. What to do first, and why it happened.
- ProblemElectric bill spikedSame habits, bigger FPL bill. How to read it, and what we test at the house.
- ProblemCool but clammyCool but clammy. The dew point math, and the five causes, most common first.
- ProblemNew AC noisesGrinding, buzzing, rattling, screeching: sorted by where you hear it and what it means.
- ProblemAC short cyclingOn, off, on, off. Three different causes, and the one Palm Coast built in.
- ProblemAC blowing warm airThe system runs, the air isn't cold. The cause table, and what waiting costs.
- ProblemAC leaking waterPuddle in the garage or stain on the ceiling. What to do now, and the timeline of the fix.
- GuideThe 2005 systemsWhy half the city's systems share a birthday, which parts fail at which age, and how to plan around it.
- GuideFPL rebate walkthroughWho qualifies, what the contractor must be, what gets filed and when the money shows up. Plain steps.
- GuideGenerator-ready HVACStarting amps, soft-start kits, transfer switches and what size generator an AC actually needs.
- GuideHurricane prepJune 1, five days out, the night before, the morning after. What to do with the AC at each point.
- GuideITT-era ductworkA decision tree for original attic ducts in the first sections ITT built: when sealing works, when it doesn't.
- GuideOutdoor unit placementClearances, airflow, noise and the lanai problem, for the lot you actually have.
- GuideSalt air & condensersFins, cabinets, contactors and copper: how salt attacks each, by distance from the water, and the habits that buy years.
- GuideSEER2, explainedThe number on the quote, what it measures, and a worked example for a typical single-story Palm Coast house.
- GuideDrain lines & SeptemberThe wettest month, the fullest drain pans, the musty smell at startup. How it happens and how to stop it.
- GuideSizing a two-storyWhy the upstairs and downstairs of a Grand Haven home are two different cooling problems, and how to size for each.
Still dripping, still warm, still loud?
That's what the phone is for. Any hour, no extra charge at night.