5 Most Common Air Conditioner Problems
5 Most Common Air Conditioning Problems
Can’t live with them, can’t live without them. Air conditioning units, depending on your location, are the greatest incurring cost on your energy bill each month. New technologies and efficiencies are starting to sufficiently lower costs for consumers across the U.S., but cooling your home is still expensive for many parts of the Southeast and Southwest.
Knowing the costly nature of a/c units in American homes, it’s imperative that you ensure the quality and performance of your system throughout the year. In order to identify any problems occurring within your system, you need to understand some of the most common mishaps with a/c units in American households. Here’s a bit of a guideline.
The Top Five Problems to Prevent or Fix
Drainage Problems – Understanding this little problem will save you from an unneeded service repair charge. Just for coming out to your home, a/c repair technicians will charge you upwards of $80.00, and in the case of a drainage problem, that’s just too much. When it’s humid outside, condensation will build up in your system and will cause the fan to stop rotating when the safety level has been reached. This is common in Florida and can be easily fixed. Make sure to check the drainage tray within your a/c unit if the fan outside is not working properly or if the system is not clicking on when lowering the temperature on the thermostat.
Leakage in Air Duct – Especially with older systems, connector areas for pipes or air ducts may be cracked or punctured, allowing cool air to escape the system prior to reaching the outtake grates. In addition, coolant pipes may rupture within the system, causing leakage and wasting expensive refrigerant. Always check your pipes.
Electrical Control Failure – The compressor and fan control are very important to the air conditioning unit operation and often wear out after a couple of years. When the air conditioning unit turns on and off repeatedly over time, stress on the compressor and fan controls can occur. This occurs especially when a system is over-sized for a particular room or building and can fry the electrical controls quickly if not addressed in a timely manner.
Sensor Problems – Thermostats and a/c units work together well, but if not working properly, they can work against each other. The thermostat sensor is located behind the control panel of the a/c system and measures the temperature of the air coming into the evaporator coils. If the sensor is broken or loses position within the system, the a/c unit could continue to blow air or cause crazy behavior. If your system does not seem controlled or is not following thermostat programs, this could be one of the main causes.
Broken Outside Fan or Faulty Wiring – Improper a/c wiring is very dangerous and can cause fires within your home. Make sure never to leave the heat on in your home if you suspect a problem with your a/c unit, particularly if you smell smoke or feel extreme heat coming from the vents. This could be due to faulty wiring from a previous technician or home owner. In addition, if the fan outside is not working properly, the a/c unit may over-heat and burn the controls within the system, or even worse, overload the compressor and burn out the a/c unit altogether. Bi-yearly checks on your unit will save you time and money in the future.
5 Most Common Air Conditioner Problems
License: Creative Commons image source
This article was written by Matthew Hall, a part-time AC repair technician working at BobHeinmiller AC Repair. Full-time he is a student at UCF studying electrical engineering.
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