When your home’s air conditioning system isn’t delivering the cool air you need to be comfortable, it can be frustrating.
If you turn on the air conditioning system and start circulating the air, but it doesn’t cool it, you don’t have to call in an HVAC service technician. Sometimes when your air conditioning system is not cooperating and giving you the cool you want circulating in your home, you may be able to troubleshoot the problem and solve it yourself.
Why Your Air Conditioning Is Not Cooling The Air
Some of the things you should do when your air conditioning system is no longer cooling the air are:
1. Check The Thermostat
This may seem obvious and simplistic, but sometimes the reason the air conditioning system in your home is running but not cooling the air is simply because someone switched the thermostat to ‘Fan’ instead of ‘Automatic’. If the thermostat is set to ‘Automatic’, when the temperature in your home gets hotter than your pre-set desired temperature, the air conditioning system switches on and begins cooling the air. If the thermostat is set to ‘Fan’, the HVAC system will simply blow air into the ducts without cooling it first. So if your air conditioner is not cooling the air, make sure that thermostat is on ‘Automatic’ not ‘Fan’.
2. Replace Dirty Filters
If the thermostat is on automatic and the air in your home is still not being cooled, the next thing you should check is the air conditioning system’s return-air filters. If the filters are dirty or clogged, it can prevent the system from getting enough air. Return-air filters should be checked and replaced regularly. Dust, animal fur and other detritus can clog the filters and prevent the air conditioner from getting an adequate amount of air for it to be able to function properly. Remove the return-air filter and hold it up to the light. Galveston AC Repair recommended; if you can’t see through it, it’s clogged and dirty and needs to be replaced. If the filter is clean, then the problem is somewhere else in the HVAC system.
3. Clear The Condensation Drain
Another reason air conditioners sometimes fail to cool the air is if the humidity isn’t removed from the air in the system through condensation. Once condensation occurs, the condensation drain hose directs the water out of the unit and into a floor drain or directly outside your home. If the condensation drain is blocked by dirt, mold and algae growth, the air conditioning units in some HVAC systems stop cooling the air. Find where the condensation drain line empties and see if it is clogged. If it is, suck out the clog using a wet/dry shop vac.
4. Check For Problems In The Ducts
If the condensation drain is clear, the next place you should check is the ducts. In whole-house air conditioning systems, there’s a blower that forces cold air out of the air conditioning unit through the ducts, then out the vents in each room. Not being able to get cool air in your home could mean the ductwork has a blockage or break somewhere in between the blower and the vents throughout the house. Examine the visible parts of your ductwork to see if one of the joints has come loose. If it has, put it back together and seal it using a generous amount of duct tape. If the ductwork is not torn or loose, the problem is somewhere else.
5. Clear Area Around The Compressor
Another reason your air conditioning system may not cool the air properly is if there is debris and dry leaves piled up around the compressor unit located outside your home. This can prevent the compressor unit from being able to draw in enough air. In order to see if that is the problem, locate your AC system’s compressor unit. It’s usually tucked away on the side or the back of the house to keep it from drawing attention. If there are leaves and debris around the compressor unit, remove them and make sure there are no overgrown vines or bushes crowding the unit and preventing it from sucking in the air it needs.
6. Clean The Coils.
If your air conditioning system’s condenser unit still isn’t cooling the air, your condenser coils or evaporator coils may be dirty. The condenser coils are housed in the compressor unit outside and the evaporator coils are encased near the blower unit. If either set of coils is dirty or has mold or debris covering it, it can prevent the air conditioning unit from putting out cold air. To clean the coils, you have to remove the protective metal enclosures in which they are encased. Cleaning the coils is not difficult, but if you are uncomfortable doing it, call an HVAC service professional.
How To Clean The Coils
Cleaning the coils is relatively simple. The first step is turning off the power to the compressor unit and the blower unit. Follow the manufacturer’s directions to remove the compressor cage and the metal panels housing the evaporator coils. Spray the evaporator coils with a no-rinse evaporator coil cleaner. The U-shaped steel or copper tubes will foam up as the dirt and grime dissolves, liquefies, runs off into the condensation pan and out the condensation drain hose.
Cleaning The Condenser Coils
To clean the condenser coils, spray them as well as the thin metal fins surrounding them with condenser coil cleaner. After letting it dissolve the dirt and grime for a minute or two, wash off the condenser coils with a garden hose to remove dirt, grime and cleanser residue. Carefully follow the directions for using the condenser coil cleanser and the cleaning process will only take a few minutes.
Call In A Professional
If you have followed all the steps outlined above and your air conditioning system still isn’t cooling the air, you may have a more serious problem. You need to call a licensed HVAC professional.
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