What to Do When Your AC Unit is Not Producing Cold Air

Summer is officially here and the mercury is rising as proof. Heat waves are rolling across the country, setting record high temperatures across much of the southwest. But just because a record isn’t being set, it in no way means that air conditioning units are staying off. In fact, air conditioning itself is quickly being regarded as a necessity and not a luxury item, even in the so-called cooler northern states. Air conditioning has become such a mainstay to the American standard of living, that as of 2009, over 86% of all American households had some type of air conditioning unit.

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How an Air Conditioner Works

While an air conditioning unit is a complex piece of equipment, it is basically a large refrigerator or freezer, operating on the same basic principles to cool the air inside your home. Central air conditioning and ventilation systems are basically made up of two parts: the air conditioning unit itself that sits outside your home and an air handling unit or furnace inside, typically in your attic.

The air conditioner outside takes advantage of the refrigeration cycle (compression, condensation, expansion, evaporation) to cool the air. Any central air conditioning unit, regardless of size or model, has the same basic pieces: a fan, a compressor, coils—both condenser and evaporator—and some type of refrigerant. The refrigerant in your AC unit is highly controlled and you must be a licensed professional to purchase or handle it. The indoor portion, circulates this cool air inside the house.

Not very Conditioned

The AC unit, when working properly, rarely affords a second thought from the best of us. But as temperatures climb and your unit can’t keep up – or worse, stops blowing cold air at all – it becomes one of the only things you can think about. Instead of buying out your local grocery store of ice cream or popsicles, there are some things you can do at home to try and get the cold air blowing.

Before beginning, you must evaluate if the problem is actually with your air conditioning unit. Easy things to check first are the “duh!” items: is there power to your AC unit? Check the breaker at your main breaker panel to see if it is tripped. Another thing to check is the thermostat…is the temperature set low enough to warrant the unit turning on?

If you have verified that the unit has power and should be on, you will need to make sure that there is proper air flow through your home. Check the filter in your air handling lines. Replacing your home furnace filter is typically an easy job and one that the average do it yourselfer could handle. If the filter is not the issue, it could be a clogged condensate drain or dirty evaporation coils. If it is none of these things, it is possible that your refrigerant has leaked and needs to be replaced or needs to be recharged.

The next steps in the troubleshooting process get more and more complicated. At any time you should take into account the cost of an air conditioning unit: using a screened, reputable ServiceWhale Air Conditioning professional is significantly cheaper than replacing your unit all-together.

What the Professionals Will Do

Once you’ve ruled out electric power, the air filter and thermostat, you might want to call in your preferred ServiceWhale professional. The AC repair workers will systematically check that the unit is fully clean. They will ensure the power is secured and pull out the filter and clean or replace it. If there is ice anywhere inside the unit, they will close up the unit, turn it and the fan on; the ice should melt and air flow should be restored.

Other things to check are the condensate drain. A side effect of the air conditioning process is the removal of moisture form the air. This water condenses in the drain and should be carried away from the unit. Over time, the drain can become clogged with dirt or mildew. This will cause puddles to form and prevent the unit from working.

Once your ServiceWhale contractor has checked all the pieces and parts, the last thing to check is for refrigerant leaks. If there is one, it will need to be repaired and then the refrigerant will be replaced. Even if there is no leak, the refrigerant needs to be recharged periodically. This can also be done by your repairman.

Who to Call

When your AC unit stops cooling, you are sure to be frustrated, but using the ServiceWhale website is anything but frustrating. It is quick and easy and, best of all, you can rest assured that you will have a licensed, competent and fair contractor to bring back the chill.