Air conditioning issues are quite common during the summer season, when the strain on the system is at its highest. While preventive maintenance can dramatically reduce the odds of a serious issue occurring with the system, it’s still important that you keep an eye out for any signs that it is developing problems over the next couple of months. The faster you can identify whether your air conditioner is having problems, the faster you can have them repaired and the better off your system will be. Have a look at some of the ways that air conditioning problems can manifest, and what you can do about them.
Refrigerant Leaks
Any time you see fluid dripping from your air conditioner, it’s a good idea to call for repairs. There’s a pretty good chance that fluid is refrigerant, and refrigerant leaks are a serious threat to the health of the system. As the level of refrigerant in the system drops lower, the air conditioner’s ability to cool the home will drop as well. Eventually, this can culminate in the entire air conditioner breaking down. So, have a technician take a look at your system before that has a chance to happen.
Short Cycling
If your air conditioner is turning itself on and off every couple of minutes instead of completing a full cooling cycle, it’s short cycling. Short cycling is an issue for a number of reasons. First, it prevents the air conditioner from cooling properly. Second, it dramatically increases the amount of wear and tear the air conditioner suffers over time. If the air conditioner is allowed to continue short cycling for a long period of time, it will become much more prone to break down and have its lifespan shortened. Make sure that you call for repairs if you hear your system doing this.
Frozen Coil
If you see ice forming on your air conditioner coil, it’s a good idea to call a technician to have a look at it. This can often happen if the coil isn’t getting enough air, causing the temperature around it to drop and the coil itself to freeze. At first, a frozen coil will simply be unable siphon heat from the home’s air the way it should. The longer it goes untreated, though, the more likely it will be to travel down the refrigerant line and freeze other parts of the system. That can be a much bigger problem. Make sure you have the issue dealt with before it gets that far.
The key part of any air conditioning repair is responding quickly, before the issue has a chance to get any worse. So, if you notice anything odd going on with your air conditioner, even if it’s not listed here, we recommend that you call for repairs just to be safe.