Central air conditioning in a home offers a great way to keep an entire home cool during the hot months of the year, but there are things that can go wrong with a central AC system that will prevent it from cooling a house. Here are the top problems that homeowners experience with central AC systems and ways to prevent these problems from occurring.

Restricted Airflow

When a central AC system keeps running or begins to short cycle and is not providing enough cool air for the home, there is a good chance the problem is due to low airflow. Just like a furnace needs good airflow to heat a home, a central AC system needs good airflow to cool a home. When airflow is restricted to the system, it will typically begin to short cycle, which means the system will turn on and off repeatedly and will never be able to completely cool a house. The system will not be able to run long enough to pull the heat out of a home and replace it with cool air. If the system does run long enough but does not have enough airflow coming to it, it will likely blow warm air into your house instead of cool, conditioned air.

There are a lot of things that can affect the airflow to a system, but the top thing is a clogged air filter. Every system has an air filter in it, and this air filter is something you must replace periodically. Some people suggest replacing it a few times a year, while others believe you should replace it monthly. Replacing it monthly will help you prevent poor airflow problems and will help keep your system cleaner. Taking the time to do this monthly is a good form of AC maintenance, and it may even extend the life of your system.

Frozen Coils

A second problem that commonly occurs with central AC system is frozen coils, and this could be frozen coils on the AC unit that is inside your home or on the component that sits outside of your home. If the exterior part of your system has ice in it, it is typically a result of poor airflow. In this case, you would need to determine if the air filter is dirty and needs to be replaced, or if there is some other type of problem that is restricting the airflow. If the coils on the inner part of your system are frozen, you may have a leak in your system.

Low Refrigerant

The refrigerant in your system is a gas that has the ability to extract heat from air, and this is how an AC system cools a house. The refrigerant is in a closed system which loops through the AC system and its components and is reused over and over. At times, the refrigerant can leak out of a system, though, and this would result in a system being low on refrigerant.

A system that is low on refrigerant could experience frozen coils, and it could experience other problems. In many cases, low coolant levels will cause a system to short cycle or run continuously. In any case, a system with low coolant will never be able to cool a house. While it is almost impossible to avoid coolant leaks in a system, a skilled HVAC company can locate them and fix them. An HVAC company can also inspect your system annually to look for potential signs of problems. If you choose to have a company inspect your system annually and fix any potential problems, you may never experience a coolant leak with your system.

If you are experiencing problems with your AC system and are not sure what to do, contact an HVAC company to schedule an air conditioning repair in your home at a convenient time for your schedule.