Prevent Your AC From Overheating This Season
When it gets hot, you’re going to run your air conditioner. The hotter it gets, the longer and harder your air conditioner has to run. And that could lead it to overheat and stop working.
So is it any wonder that summer is the time of the year that we receive most of our requests for air conditioning services? If your AC isn’t tuned-up to handle the summer heat, you shouldn’t be surprised to find that it can’t keep up.
Overheating isn’t the only way that air conditioners fail during the spring and summer, but it’s one that every homeowner should be informed about. Below are three ways that air conditioners commonly overheat and what you can do to prevent it:
1. Change That Dirty Air Filter
The HVAC air filter: you can’t live with it, and you can’t live without it. It’s necessary to protect your air conditioner from dust and dirt, but at the same time, you need to remember to change it regularly. Otherwise it can cause even worse problems, such as overheating.
When the air filter becomes too dirty, air is no longer able to flow freely through the filter and the air conditioner. However, the air conditioner needs plenty of air in order to facilitate the cooling process. This can lead to the air conditioner overheating, tripping the circuit breaker, and shutting down at the worst possible time.
Of course, you can always just reset the circuit breaker and restart the system, but that won’t fix the problem for long. Simply change the filter regularly and you’ll be good to go! It’s commonly recommended to change the filter between one and three months, but you can ask your preferred HVAC technician for a solid answer.
2. Keep the Condenser Coils Clean
Your air conditioner absorbs warm air from inside your home thanks to the help of the evaporator coil. The refrigerant undergoes a phase change as it transfers from the evaporator coil to the condenser coil.
The condenser coil is essential for releasing that warm air. But if the coil is too dirty, that dirt will act as an insulator and can cause overheating! Fortunately, you just have to keep the condenser coil clean to avoid overheating.
The only problem is that your condenser coil is located in the air conditioner’s outdoor unit. It’s constantly exposed to dust, dirt, and debris.
The solution is easy enough: clean the unit and ensure that it’s not covered by debris or plants. However, you can’t just blast the condenser unit with a hose—contact an HVAC tech for help to make sure that you don’t damage the coils.
3. Ensure There’s Enough Refrigerant in the System
As mentioned above, refrigerant is a necessary component for your air conditioner’s functions. If an AC has anything less than the ideal amount of refrigerant in its system, then it’s going to cause some issues, and possibly lead to overheating.
Don’t believe anyone who tells you that air conditioners regularly need to have their refrigerant “topped off.” There are really only two times where you might have a system with this problem:
- There’s a leak in the refrigerant line somewhere. That’s going to need immediate attention.
- The refrigerant was never properly charged in the first place, meaning you’ve had low refrigerant since day one.
Contact Santa Fe Express Plumbing & Drain today for air conditioning repairs and service. Why Wait for Service When You Can Get It Express?