AC Leaking Water Inside the House: Causes and What to Do
Water by the furnace in July? What's normal dripping and what's a leak, the usual causes (drain, pump, iced coil, cracked pan), and what to do right now.
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New Brighton began as a stockyards town in the 1890s and filled in with houses between 1940 and 1970, so a typical home here is well into its third furnace.
We repair and replace furnaces, air conditioners, heat pumps, boilers and ductless mini-splits in New Brighton and across Ramsey County. Every visit starts with a $79 trip charge and a written price before any work, and the $79 is waived when you go ahead with the repair.
Updated September 23, 2026

Around town: Long Lake Regional Park · Rice Creek · Interstate 35W · Interstate 694 · Old Highway 8
Book in New BrightonNew Brighton had about 500 residents in 1930 and nearly 20,000 by 1970, so only a thin layer of housing predates World War II, mostly around the old stockyards-era village. Almost everything else went up in a 20-year rush: 1950s ramblers first, then 1960s split-levels. Those houses were built with modest chimney-vented furnaces, trunk-and-branch ducts, and, in most cases, no central air.
The 1970s and 1980s added townhomes and apartment buildings, which moved furnaces into closets and lined condensers up along buildings. The ground itself matters too. New Brighton sits on low, poorly drained glacial terrain dotted with lakes and wetlands, and basements near them can run damp. That affects where a furnace and its condensate drain should sit, whether ducts in a basement ceiling sweat in summer, and whether the lower level needs a dehumidifier running from May to September.
Split-levels here have three or four floor levels and one thermostat, usually on the main floor. In January the lowest level and any room over the garage run cold while the top bedrooms stay warm, because heated air rises through the open half-flights. A thermostat with a remote sensor helps, and a return low in the house keeps the furnace from recirculating only the warmest air. Closing a few upstairs supplies partway each November shifts more heat to the lower rooms.
Damp basements are New Brighton's summer theme. On low ground near lakes and wetlands, the lower level stays cool and humid, supply ducts in an unfinished ceiling can sweat and drip, and musty smells build by August. The AC helps upstairs but rarely runs long enough to dry the basement. A dehumidifier set at or below 50 percent, insulated ducts where they sweat, and a clean condensate line keep it in check. Houses that got central air in the 1970s or 80s may also still be on R-22.
Both utility bills in New Brighton come from Xcel Energy, so there's one set of programs to check. Xcel's heat pump rebates go through its Trade Partner Network contractors, so ask whether the installer you're considering is on that list. Homes that heat mainly with a heat pump can ask about Xcel's reduced space-heating rate. For a gas furnace, Xcel's heating equipment rebates cover high-efficiency models, and its insulation and air-sealing rebates are worth a look before new equipment is sized.
Rebate programs change every year; check the utility's current terms before you buy. Our guides: Xcel and CenterPoint rebates, heat pump rebates, what happened to the federal credits.
Central Minnesota Heating and Cooling serves New Brighton and the rest of Ramsey County, about 7 miles from downtown Minneapolis. We repair and replace furnaces, central air, heat pumps, boilers and ductless mini-splits, and we're open 7 days, 7am–9pm. Call 612-429-3465.
A flat $79 trip charge, waived when you approve the repair. Written price before any work; same prices in every town we serve. Installed prices are on our pricing page.
Most associations control where the condenser sits, what it sits on and sometimes the screening around it, and many want approval before the old unit comes out. Send us the rules or put us in touch with the manager. We match the new condenser's footprint and line-set path to what's allowed and can supply the equipment specs a board usually asks to see.
Yes. A whole-home humidifier mounts on the furnace ductwork and adds moisture while the furnace runs. In a Minnesota winter the target drops as it gets colder outside, roughly 25 to 35 percent in ordinary cold and lower in a deep freeze, or the windows will sweat and frost. We install a control with an outdoor sensor so it adjusts on its own instead of relying on you to turn a dial.
Often. Split-levels usually have short trunk lines in the basement ceiling feeding each level, so motorized dampers can go in where the branches leave the trunk, out of sight. The upper bedrooms and the lowest level then get their own thermostats. The limit is return air: many split-levels have one or two returns for the whole house, and zoning works poorly until that is fixed. We check both before quoting.
In summer it's almost always the air conditioner. The indoor coil sits on the furnace and drains water all day; if the drain line clogs with algae or the condensate pump fails, it overflows. Uninsulated supply ducts in a damp basement can also sweat and drip onto the floor. Check the drain and the pump first, then the ducts. A float switch that shuts the AC off before an overflow is a small add-on.
Water by the furnace in July? What's normal dripping and what's a leak, the usual causes (drain, pump, iced coil, cracked pan), and what to do right now.
Read the guideHiring for a furnace or AC in Minneapolis? Check the DLI bond and city license, the permit, a Manual J, a written quote and warranty, and the red flags.
Read the guideWater around the furnace in July? How the AC condensate drain works, the order to check it in, how to clear a clog, and when a pump or trap is to blame.
Read the guideBrands we service in New Brighton: AirEase · Amana · American Standard · Ameristar · Aprilaire · Arcoaire · Armstrong Air · Bosch · Broan-NuTone · Bryant · Buderus · Burnham · Carrier · Champion · Coleman · Comfortmaker · Concord · Daikin · Day & Night · Ducane · ecobee · Frigidaire · Fujitsu · Gibson · Goodman · Google Nest · Gree · Heil · Honeywell Home · Lennox · LG · Lifebreath · Lochinvar · Luxaire · Maytag · Midea · Mitsubishi Electric · MrCool · Navien · NTI · Payne · Peerless · Rheem · Rinnai · RunTru · Ruud · Samsung · Santa Fe · Tempstar · Trane · Triangle Tube · Utica Boilers · Viessmann · Weil-McLain · Westinghouse · York
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