The Horizon Comfort Zone receives lots of questions about plumbing, heating and air conditioning. With the summer heat upon us, we thought it would be a great opportunity to answer some air conditioning questions we have recently received from our readers.
Question: Our air conditioner is working, but not very well. The air is somewhat cool, but it's not cool enough to keep us comfortable! Why isn't our air conditioner getting the job done?Answer: There are a number of things that could diminish the cooling capacity of your air conditioner. The most common causes for this are a clogged air filter, or a loose fan belt. Another explanation is that your system is low on refrigerant. On top of not producing enough cool air, is your air conditioner starting and stopping frequently? If so, this may be caused by any of these same three problems.
The first thing you should try on your own is to see if the air filter is dirty. If so, clean it or replace it. In general, air conditioner filters should be replaced on a monthly basis.
Air conditioning fan belt and refrigerant issues are best left to the air conditoning pros. Unless you are familiar with air conditioning systems, a service technician will need to check whether the fan belt is loose or if the system is low on refrigerant. Still, these are simple problems to fix.
Other more serious problems that diminish air conditioning cooling capacity stem from the system design. For example, lack of return air ducts, or even oversized equipment are among the conditions that will diminish your air conditioner's cooling ability. These problems are fixable but are more complex and costly.
Question: I am not getting enough cool air from my air conditioning system. I checked to see if the furnace was running and I noticed some water on the floor around my furnace. Is there any connection here?Answer: Your cooling coil may be frosted inside your air conditioning system. This happens when there’s not enough air getting through the system and passing over the cooling coil. Some simple things that you or your air conditioning technician can check are:
- Is the air filter dirty?
- Do you have any closed registers blocking the airflow?
- Are there some closed dampers in the duct lines?
Replacing your filter and opening some of these registers and dampers up will allow air to flow again. To defrost the system, try running your heat for thirty minutes; then try the cooling again.
Your cooling coil can also frost up again after you defrost it if your air conditioning system is low on refrigerant. Be sure to have your service technician check the level and make sure you have the right amount of refrigerant.
Question: My air conditioner is making some weird noises. Is this just because the air conditioner is old and cranky, or do I have a major air conditioning problem?Answer: Odd noises coming from your air conditoning system are not typical. If you do hear strange noises, you probably do have a problem with your air conditioner, but the kind of problem you have depends on the kind of noise it is making. For example, if the outdoor unit is very noisy when it first starts up, this could mean that the compressor is working too hard. Check to see if leaves or grass are blocking the fins on the unit. If so, remove them so more air can get to the system.
If there are no leaves or grass blocking the fins, yet the air conditioning unit is still making noise, or if it makes a humming noise but doesn’t really start up, the compressor itself might be burned out. If so, it would need to be replaced.
If you hear a strange chattering noise, this means that the contact points in the wiring for your system are burned. You’ll need to call an air conditioning service technician to get them replaced.
Question: In the past, I’ve had the problem where our air conditioning wasn’t coming on and I had to go to the electrical box and reset the breaker or replace the fuse. But what if the air conditioner stops again? Is it okay to just keep resetting the breaker?Answer: Occasionally a breaker trips or a fuse burns out (once every couple of years). In that case, sure, you can reset the breaker or replace the fuse again and see if that works. There’s no problem with doing that. However, if the problem persists and the air conditioning unit keeps starting and stopping—perhaps even over a period of weeks--then you need to call your air conditioning service technician. Something is clearly wrong with the air conditioning system that is causing the breaker to keep tripping.
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