PTAC Repair

Yes, we repair PTAC units across NYC, the through-the-wall air conditioners and heat pumps under the windows of apartment buildings, hotels, dorms and offices. Our independent, EPA-certified technicians work on Amana, GE Zoneline, Friedrich and LG units, both PTACs with electric heat and PTHP heat pumps, and price the repair before any work begins.

Most PTAC calls are one of five problems: a unit that runs but won't cool, a unit that blows cold air on heat, water leaking into the room, a fan that won't start or a unit that is suddenly loud, and a control panel showing an error code. A clogged filter or a coil packed with city grime causes more of these than any failed part, so we check airflow and the coils before we condemn a compressor or a board.

Water inside the room usually means the unit's condensate cannot leave the way it was designed to. A PTAC sleeve is meant to pitch slightly toward the outside so water drains through the exterior grille; when the sleeve has settled level, the drain is blocked, or the coil has iced up and then thawed, the water comes in instead. We check the sleeve, the drain path and the coil together, because fixing only one brings the leak back.

On heat, a PTHP heat pump hands the load to its electric heater when it is too cold outside for the heat pump to keep up. If that heater element or its safety limit has failed, the unit runs and blows cool air on the coldest days, which is exactly when tenants and guests call. Where PTACs are an apartment's only heat source, a no-heat unit in heat season is a heat complaint, and we treat it as urgent.

Not every PTAC is worth repairing, and we say so. A failed fan motor, control board, thermostat sensor or heater is normally a straightforward repair. A failed compressor or a refrigerant leak in the sealed system of an older chassis often costs close to a new one, and because most PTAC sleeves are a standard 42 by 16 inches, a replacement chassis can usually slide into the existing sleeve without touching the wall. You get both prices before you decide, and for buildings with dozens of units we can schedule filter and coil cleaning across the whole stack before cooling or heating season starts.