Fixing Your Air Conditioner: How To Know When It's Time For AC Repairs

Summertime is the season of the air conditioner. The sweltering heat makes it almost unbearable to be outside without being able to go inside and cool down. Air conditioning is a luxury that most homeowners have, but one that costs a lot of money to maintain.

Issues with the AC Unit Not Cooling

An air conditioner has two main parts: a condenser and an outdoor compressor. The condenser is the component inside the home. The compressor is what's outside.

The condenser is the component that cools the air. It works a bit like a big fan, but it uses refrigerant instead of air. When air goes through the condenser, the refrigerant absorbs the heat from the air and releases it back outside. The compressor is what turns the refrigerant from a liquid into a gas. The gas is pumped through the condenser, where heat is taken off it and into your house. The refrigerant then turns into a liquid again and goes through a coil where it absorbs heat from the air again.

Sometimes, for various reasons, the refrigerant doesn't circulate properly through the condenser. When that happens, the refrigerant can't absorb heat from the air, and your air conditioner doesn't cool the air.

There are three basic reasons that an air conditioner can't cool properly:

• Dirty filters—Dirty filters are like a grill that filters out the dirt, but they don't filter out the allergens. If the filters are dirty, the airflow is reduced, and the system won't cool properly.
• Dirty evaporator coil—The evaporator coil is part of the condenser. It removes heat from the refrigerant, which gets pumped through the coil. If the coil is dirty, it can't remove enough heat.
• Dirty blower—The blower circulates the air through the evaporator coil and the coils in the condenser. If the blower is dirty, the air won't be circulated properly through the coils.

When your air conditioner isn't cooling properly, you should start with changing the filters and cleaning parts. If cleaning doesn't help, move on to troubleshooting parts and call an AC technician for help.

Airflow Issues and Duct Leaks

Airflow issues include blocked vents and registers, ducts that are not properly sealed, and ducts that cannot carry sufficient air volume. Duct leaks include holes, gaps, or leaks in the ducts.

The ducts in your home carry conditioned air from the AC to the vents and registers in your home. If the ducts are leaking or if the ducts are not sealed properly, the conditioned air doesn't reach all of the rooms. The AC's compressor and condenser fan cycle on and off more often, causing the compressor to wear out more quickly.

Deal with small AC troubles before they turn into big problems. Click this link to learn more about air conditioning repair services to get the help you need to fix your system before problems get worse.