8 Reasons Your AC is Not Cooling and What You Can Do about It
Air conditioners are blessings that none can strongly deny. You only realize their utility when your unit starts malfunctioning. Especially if you are a resident of Florida or Texas, you know very well that your life is incomplete without an air conditioner.
Air conditioning is a bit complicated process which requires a perfect combination of temperature, pressure, and airflow. Interestingly an air conditioner works in a very similar way to a refrigerator. The only difference is refrigerators cool a small insulated place, and AC units cool a larger space.
There could be many reasons for your AC not cooling house. Since heating and air conditioning repair is very expensive, you might think that any problem with your central air conditioner not cooling would cost money. Fortunately, you don’t have to call professionals for every problem in your AC unit. We, The Soothing Air team, listed all the possible reasons why your AC not cooling as well as DIY solutions.
1. Thermostat Issue
Thermostat issue is one of the common troubleshooting that occur to Air Conditioner system. If your ac is working but not cooling fast enough, then it might be for thermostat issue. If the thermostat setting is set “On”, then your ac would blow the air 24/7 whether the air is cool or not. However, if the thermostat display is blank, then it might indicate any malfunction of the thermostat process. The reason may be dead batteries, circuit malfunction or any other problem.
Solution
Change the thermostat setting from “On” to “Auto.” It might solve the problem of your ac not blowing cold air. If it doesn’t, you should change the batteries to check if that remedies the problem. If not, then you should call in a licensed HVAC professional to deal with the issue.
2. Dirty Air Filter
An air filter is designed to filter out germs and other pollutants from entering your AC. it enhance the air integrity, your AC is providing. However, after a certain time, the filter gets dirty and clogged. A dirty and clogged air filter can severely limit down the performance of your AC.
Solution
Cleaning or changing the air filter of your AC unit can enhance the performance of your AC manifolds. A clean air filter enables the thermostat process to deliver your desired temperature. You should clean or change your AC air filter on a regular basis. The left side and the right side of the picture is showing a clean and a dirty air filter respectively.
3. Blocked Condenser Unit
A condenser unit is one of the most important parts of your Air Conditioner unit. The evaporator unit absorbs the heat from your room and transfers it to the condenser unit that dissipates the heat. Both units complement each other. But unfortunately, the condenser units don’t get their enough attention just because they are situated outside. This is especially common for split AC unit. A blocked condenser unit can reduce the effectiveness of your air conditioner and in the long run, it may cause other mechanical dysfunctions. If you notice your AC not cooling enough and you haven’t cleaned your condenser unit for a long time, this might be the reason.
Solution
You should maintain your AC condenser unit on a regular basis. Keep it in an open space and don’t allow grass or weeds to grow. You should clean debris and unwanted plants from the nearby area with garden equipment.
4. Low Refrigerant
The heat of your room is absorbed by the AC with a special kind of liquid called the refrigerant. A low level of refrigerant can seriously hamper the cooling process of your air conditioning system. It can happen if there is any refrigerant leakage. You should deal with the problem immediately since running the AC in that state can lead to severe compressor problems. The symptoms of refrigerant leaks are:
- Ice on refrigerant lines
- Hissing noise
- Effective cooling on nights and cool days but ineffective cooling at hot days
Solution
If you detect a refrigerant leak or low refrigerant level, you should shut down your AC immediately and call a professional as soon as possible.
5. Frozen Air Handler
A frozen air handler can block the cooling system of your AC. if your AC is working but not cooling, then you should check the frozen air handler before calling a professional. It is very easy to check the air handler. Just remove the air filter and have a look inside. If you can see any ice inside then the air handler is not in order.
Solution
You have to shut down your AC and keep it off for a 24 hours time period. By this time the ice inside would dry and after then you can start your unit again. If the problem starts occurring repeatedly then you should call in a professional for help.
6. Faulty Motor
A broken or faulty condenser fan motor can make your air conditioner unable to cool down your house since the condenser unit is responsible for the heat dissipation. In this case, you need to call in a professional for fixing the motor.
7. Faulty Compressor
If the refrigerant is the blood of your AC then the compressor is the heart. The compressor circulates the refrigerant to the inside and outside unit of your AC. if you don’t find the above-mentioned problems in your AC then it might be the reason why your central or portable air conditioner not cooling the house enough. Unfortunately, compressors are very expensive, and you are doomed if you don’t have any warranty as you have to replace the whole outside unit.
8. Undersized AC
If your air conditioner unit is undersized to your house then it would struggle 24/7 to provide the desired temperature. Furthermore, an undersized AC can disrupt the humidity level of your house. You should take the help of professionals to manually determine the area of your house to have an AC according to your space size. Or you can do it yourself calculating the space of your house from here.
Air Conditioning repairing by a professional can cost too much money depending on the problem of your AC. it is better to check it yourself to avoid any unnecessary expense. The problems and solutions mentioned here can save a lot of your money. However, it is even better to maintain your air conditioner unit on a regular basis to get the optimal utility from your AC.
Categorised in: Air Conditioner
