Emergency services
When your air conditioner breaks down in the middle of the hot summer season it can be quite frustrating. Fortunately, there are certain things you can do as a homeowner to help restore the functionality of your AC unit. Here, we’ll discuss some of the most common problems you may have and how to handle them effectively.
Thermostat Not Working
One really frustrating problem you may experience is your thermostat isn’t turning on. The main reason your thermostat isn’t working is due to a lack of power. The root cause of this issue could be something as simple as your circuit breaker has tripped and needs resetting or the batteries inside your thermostat are dead and in need of replacement.
In other cases, the problem may lie with the faulty thermostat or wiring going to it. You’ll need one of our professional AC repair technicians to assess the latter two culprits and repair your setup.
Blowing Hot and Cold Air
One rather perplexing issue you may run into with your air conditioner is that one moment it’s blowing nice and cool air while the next it’s blowing warm air. If your unit is switching back and forth between hot and cold air, it’s very likely you have your blower fan on the wrong setting. When you look at your thermostat, you can set your blower fan to auto or on.
When your blower fan is set to auto, it will only turn on when your air conditioner is running. However, if the blower fan is set to on, it will run non-stop. This means that it’ll be blowing nice cold air when your air conditioner is running and warm air when your air conditioner is off. Fortunately, this is another easy fix, as all you need to do is change the blower fan setting to auto instead of on.
Inadequate Cooling
If you notice that your air conditioner doesn’t seem to be cooling your home like it used to, there could be a couple of different reasons why. One of the most common is a dirty air filter. Whenever the filter gets extremely dirty, it forms a wall of debris that makes it harder for your air conditioner to force air through.
This will weaken the airflow throughout your ductwork and cause inefficient cooling. This is another easy fix, as all you need to do is replace the air filter. Simply pull the filter out of the house and double-check to ensure that it’s completely dirty. You can do this by holding it up to a light and looking through it. If you can’t see through the filter, it’s the source of your problem and needs to be replaced.
If you can see through the air filter, the issue may lie with a low refrigerant level. When the refrigerator inside your AC unit seeps out through loose joints or holes in your line, its ability to remove heat from the air in your home significantly diminishes. You’ll need one of our air conditioner professionals to locate the source of the refrigerant leak and repair it before recharging your refrigerant to get your system back up and running.
Another possible culprit of inadequate cooling is dirty coils. There’s an evaporator coil inside your indoor air handler unit that is responsible for allowing heat transfer from the air in your home to the refrigerant inside the coil. There’s also a condenser coil inside your outdoor condenser unit that’s responsible for heat transfer from the refrigerant to the air outside.
If either of these coils is overly dirty with debris, it drastically reduces their ability for heat transfer. While the refrigerant level inside the coils is perfect, if that heat can’t transfer from the air in or out to the refrigerant, you’re not going to have adequate cooling. It’s best to leave cleaning your coils up to one of our professional technicians who has the appropriate solution that will remove the grime without damaging the coils.
Thermostat Reading Incorrectly
Another issue you may experience is your thermostat seems to be reading a higher temperature than what your home actually is. You’ll likely notice that your air conditioner is running non-stop while you’re home feels overly cold. Many times, the root cause of this is interference from heat-producing factors.
This could be an appliance positioned right next to the thermostat that’s emitting heat and causing the thermostat to read a higher temperature than the room actually is. A common contributing factor is direct sunlight coming in through your window. That sunlight is heating up the thermostat and causing it to falsely read a higher temperature. While it’s necessary to move your thermostat for long-term use, a quick troubleshooting tactic could be just to put a blind over the window to prevent UV rays from coming in.
If the problem is from a heat-producing appliance near your thermostat, move the appliance. If you can’t find a source of heat that could be altering the thermostat’s reading, your thermostat may need recalibration. It’s typical for thermostats to lose their temperature calibration over time and inaccurately read your home’s temperature. One of our professionals can easily work with your thermostat to recalibrate it so it’s reading the appropriate temperature.
Leaking Water
One overly concerning issue you can experience is water building up around the outside of your indoor air handler unit. This pooling water is typically the result of a clog in the drain line for your AC’s overflow pan. As your air conditioner runs, it will extract excess moisture out of the air.
This moisture typically lands on the evaporator coil and drips down into the drain pan. It will enter the drain pan through the drain line which drains to a drain in your home or to the outside of your home. When the drain gets clogged full of debris, it won’t allow that water to drain. Rather, it will back up into the drain pan and eventually overflow. To fix this issue, you’ll need to remove any debris in the drain pan or the drain line that’s blocking the water from properly draining.
Seeking Professional Assistance
While some of the problems that we discussed above can have simple solutions that you can do on your own, many air conditioner problems will require professional assistance. It’s important to call us as soon as you notice something is wrong with your system, like a weird smell or an odd noise. By allowing us to look at it as soon as possible, we can repair it before any more damage happens to your unit.
Routine AC Maintenance
One of the absolute best ways to significantly reduce your chance of experiencing one of these unfortunate issues is to get professional maintenance service. When we perform this service, we’ll clean, inspect, and test all the internal components of your AC unit. By doing this, we can identify any malfunctioning or worn-out components. This will allow us to repair these problems now and prevent major issues later on.
Reliable AC Repair Service
865 HVAC provides reliable AC repair service for the Knoxville, TN area. We can also help with all your AC replacement, new installation, and maintenance needs. Simply call us today to schedule your next service consultation.
