An air conditioning unit is one of those things that you don’t really notice until it stops working. All of a sudden the room starts to get warm and the inhabitants suddenly realise how quiet it is as they are so used to the low drone. There are many reasons why an air con unit will stop working so instead of Googling “why is my air conditioner not cooling the house?” check out our list of the most common air con problems.
Low Refrigerant Levels
Air con units use the refrigerant to remove the humidity and heat from the home. If the system springs a leak and the refrigerant seeps out the levels can drop below those needed to cool the air. This can be one of the costliest and most time consuming air conditioning repairs as all the leaks must be located repaired and the lines fully tested before the air con becomes functional again.
Evaporator Coils Have Frozen
The refrigerant fills the evaporator coil in your air con unit, and acts like a sponge to absorb the heat. This probably sounds a bit counter-intuitive but these coils actually need warm air to circulate around them in order for them to function properly. If something should go wrong with this airflow and the coil temperature drops too low, an actual layer of ice will form. When this happens you will either get hot air or no air coming out of your air conditioning unit.
Condenser Coils are Dirty
The condenser coils are a vital bit of the air con unit. They are in the outdoor part of the unit and they get rid of the heat by drawing it through and expelling it outside. The fact it’s outdoors, however, leaves it exposed to the elements. It can get covered in a layer of grime and dirt and this is particularly common in cities where there is a lot of pollution. When this happens the heat transfer is greatly impeded and the unit will have to work overtime to do its job. This leads to increased wear and tear and ultimately the system could fail altogether.
Problems With the Fan
The fan blows the indoor air over the evaporator coil in the unit in order to cool the air, whilst a second one blows air over the condenser in the outdoor unit to expel the heat it has absorbed outside. If either of these fans fail to function properly. Possibly due to lack of lubrication or a faulty motor, a buildup of debris and dirt or worn belts, you will end up with both poor airflow and major problems with your air con units. If you don’t get onto this straight away it could lead to complete compressor failure, which is usually a death knell for your air con unit.
Leaking Ducts
The air cons ductwork runs through walls and ceilings and carries cooled air from your air con unit. However, holes or breaks sometimes appear in the ducts, and the air you have paid so much money to remove gets trapped within your walls. This in turn makes your unit have to work harder and pushes up the energy bills.
Photo by Paige Cody on Unsplash
