When summer hits, it’s nice to know you have a reliable air conditioner to offer some relief from the heat.
But if your AC starts blowing hot air instead of cold air, you’ll feel discomfort and annoyance with your broken air conditioning unit.
Why does an air conditioner start blowing hot air?
The sooner you understand the reasons behind it, the sooner you will feel comfortable making service decisions and taking action to prevent it:
What to Do if the AC Breaker is Always Tripping
Air conditioners require a connection to your electrical system. This means they have their own unique breaker on your breaker panel.
Constant tripping of the breaker is a sign that something is seriously wrong with the AC. Some of the most common reasons why the AC breaker will blow include:
- - A clogged or dirty air filter is making the unit work harder and use more electricity than it should.
- - The AC was incorrectly installed and is not compatible with the breaker panel.
- - Any other issues that may impede the efficiency of the AC and cause it to strain to work harder, using more electricity.
If the AC breaker is in the off position when you check it, simply flip it back to the on position and it should start working again.
But if it continues to flip, there is most likely an underlying issue that requires professional attention to fix.
Whether it’s making sure the AC is compatible with the breaker panel or taking steps to improve the efficiency, an experienced professional can solve the problem.
How to Handle Low Refrigerant
One of the most common hot air issues in an AC is low refrigerant. The refrigerant is a fluid that cools and condenses the air in the AC unit.
If the fluid is low, your AC won’t have the cooling power it should, and it will blow hot air. Many homeowners will see low refrigerant and simply try to add more and move on.
However, low refrigerant is often a sign of a leak that needs to be repaired before more fluid is added.
Issues such as manufacturer’s defects, accidental puncturing or pinching, and incorrect installations are just a few common causes of refrigerant leaks.
Once your trusted AC professional locates the source of the leak, they will repair it and add more refrigerant to get your unit back to normal again.
How Does an AC Unit Freeze Over?
Your air conditioner requires a clean environment to work efficiently. This is part of the reason why the air filter is so important.
If the components inside the AC become contaminated or dirty, they are at risk to freeze and stop working.
The evaporator coil is the most common component that freezes over when it becomes dirty or contaminated.
Some of the signs that you are dealing with a frozen evaporator coil include:
- - Increased humidity in your home.
- - Hot air is blowing from the registers.
- - A noisy condenser unit that is trying to compensate.
If your evaporator coil is frozen, we will recommend a course of action dependent on the severity of the problem.
We will either clean, repair, or completely replace the coil to get the AC unit working again.