It can be awful to have an air conditioner working away during the day, running almost constantly, and still have a house that’s too stuffy and hot. If you’re currently having this trouble, you may need the assistance of a licensed HVAC contractor. Our repair professionals will see that your cooling system receives the assistance necessary to work its best with our skilled air conditioning repairs in Fresno, CA.
Below are some possibilities for why your AC may not be keeping up with the summer heat.
The AC is the wrong size for the house
Is your air conditioning system a new one? Then the trouble, we’re sorry to say, is probably that the installers put in a unit that was improperly sized for your home. This is a common issue with amateur and inexperienced contractors: if they don’t take the important steps of doing a load calculation to determine the amount of cooling output necessary to provide comfort, they may install an under-powered AC. The only solution in this case is to have licensed professionals undo the problem by replacing the cooling system with one that’s accurately sized.
The air filter is clogged
On the other end of the trouble scale, the reason for the AC struggling may be as simple as a clogged air filter. This filter must be swapped out for a clean one every one to three months. With the amount of time you’ve run the air conditioning system this summer, the filter can clog up fast. If the filter is clogged, an air conditioner cannot draw enough air to work effectively.
There are refrigerant leaks
This is a problem that can strike air conditioners that have been in service for more than five years. Corrosion on the copper refrigerant lines from chemicals in the air can lead to refrigerant escaping. An AC system is designed to work with a fixed amount of refrigerant, and if it drops, the AC will lose its cooling capacity. It will also be in danger of a complete compressor breakdown, so you’ll want HVAC technicians to seal the leaks and recharge the refrigerant as soon as possible.
Dirty evaporator or condenser coils
The two sets of coils in an air conditioning system are where refrigerant evaporates or condenses to move heat from inside the house to outside. If either coil picks up a layer of dust, dirt, mulch, leaves, grime, etc., the AC will struggle with heat transfer and underperform. It’s best to let professionals handle the cleaning of dirty coils, since trying to use standard cleaning methods may end up harming the coils.
Fan troubles
There are two major fans in a split air conditioning system: the indoor blower fan sends warm air around the cold refrigerant in the evaporator coil and then moves the cool air into the ventilation system; and the fan in the outdoor condenser unit draws outdoor air across the condenser coil and then releases the heat to the outside. If these fans slow down or fail because of motor problems, an AC’s cooling ability will be hampered.
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