No cool
When the Air Conditioner Runs and the House Still Will Not Cool
The fan is on. The house is not catching up. What to check, and when independent AC repair is the next call.
If the indoor fan runs and the outdoor unit is silent, you do not have a thermostat problem. You have an outdoor unit that is not starting, or a float switch that shut it off. If both are running and the air at the supply is barely cooler than the room, the system is moving air and not cooling.
Check these before you wait all afternoon
Thermostat set to cool, setpoint below the room, fan on auto. Filter not packed. Outdoor unit not iced over and not buried in shrubs. Breaker not tripped. Disconnect pulled out by a landscaper.
A supply temperature about 15 to 20 degrees below the return is a system that is working. A two-degree difference is a system that is not. You can feel that with a cheap thermometer. You do not need a diagnosis from a call center.
Then call the shop
Tell them the outdoor unit is or is not running, whether there is ice, and how old the system is. That is enough for an owner-operated shop to show up with the likely part. Find independent AC repair and call the shop, not a dispatch board.
If the company leads with a full replacement before they have measured anything, you can still say no. A repair quote and a replacement quote are different pieces of paper.
Ready to call a shop? Find independent AC repair by city.