We can think of one thing worse than an air conditioner that stops working when you need it most:
An air conditioner that blows hot air instead of cold air.
But we’re not just saying that as some kind of joke. There are certain kinds of AC issues that can do the opposite of what your AC is intended to do. If your AC is ever blowing out air that isnโt cold, there could be a problem. Weโll help you figure it out so you can know whether you just need to reprogram your thermostat or if it requires calling an air conditioning expert in Fairview Park, OH.
Wrong AC or Thermostat Settings
Itโs so obvious youโd think weโre kidding, but we have to say it: make sure your air conditioning is set to a cool temperature. We wouldnโt want you to call for repairs and get charged a service fee simply because the thermostat was set wrong.
Another common mistake is setting the thermostat to โfan-only,โ which would only blow room temperature air around the home. And finally, if youโre using a heat pump, make sure that itโs not still set in heating mode.
Outdoor Unit Isnโt Working
Itโs possible that your outdoor unit can fail to operate even while the indoor unit is still running. If you donโt go outside to check, this would give you the impression that everything seems to be working fine. In reality, your indoor unit is blowing warm air through your home, similar to the โfan-onlyโ mode mentioned above. The most likely scenario is that your outdoor unit has tripped the breaker and needs to be restarted.
However, since a tripped breaker is always an indication of overcurrent, it can be a bad idea to keep the unit running. You wouldnโt want to risk burning out capacitors or fan motorsโessential components for the outdoor unitโso make sure to schedule a maintenance check to have the problem inspected.
Frozen Evaporator Coil
Take a look inside your indoor AC unit. If the evaporator coilโthe big metal block laced with copper tubesโis covered in frost, then that could definitely explain the problem. First off, and directly to the point, a frozen evaporator coil is going to prevent cold air from coming into your home. The evaporator coilโs job is to absorb heat, but if itโs unable to do this, it can freeze over and block the airflow.
Second, and more importantly, a frozen evaporator coil can sometimes signal the presence of a refrigerant leak. Air conditioners rely on the perfect amount of refrigerant to transfer warm air out of your home, so a leak will only make this problem gradually worsen until it leads to complete AC failure. A frozen coil is one of the first problems you would experience before it gets to that point, making it a good time to turn off the AC and call for repairs.
