Energy Efficient Electrical Designs for New Homes

2 Commonly Asked Questions About Home Air Conditioning Repairs

8 December 2015

Kimberly Garrett

A central air conditioning unit may run for years without any problems or slowdowns, but once it fails to work, of course you want repairs to be done as quickly as possible. Keeping your home cool also means keeping it free from excessive humidity and the risk of mold and mildew growth. Before you do call a repair technician, you might note some commonly asked questions about those repairs and what might be involved.

1. If the unit blows air but it's not very cool, will it just need a recharge of refrigerant?

This is what many homeowners assume when it comes to air conditioners that work to blow air but just don't blow out cool air. In some cases, it may be low refrigerant that's the culprit but not always. The compressor, which is a part that circulates air around the refrigerant to cool it before it gets blown into the home, may be failing.

Your home's ductwork may also be very dirty so that the air gets warm as it gets pushed through all that dust and dirt and isn't cool when it goes through the vents. Your home may also be very poorly insulated so that there is actually cool air being pushed through the vents, but it gets warm far too quickly because of the outside temperatures, sunlight, and the like. Your technician may need to check all these factors before he or she can actually fix your air conditioner properly.

2. Why does the unit work only sporadically?

If the unit seems to come on and then switch off too quickly, it may be that the air conditioner itself is too powerful for your home. It blows a lot of cold air into the home quickly so that the thermostat reads a cooler temperature just as quickly, and then the unit switches off.

This may happen so often and so quickly that you assume it's the air conditioner simply switching on and off sporadically. A technician may check the size of the unit you have versus your home's size and recommend you downgrade to something that will need to work for a longer cycle to cool your home. This will not only help to better regulate the temperature but will also give the air conditioner a chance to remove excess humidity in the home, something it can't do if it switches on and off too quickly in one cycle.

For more information about the potential causes of your problems, contact a local home air conditioning company. 

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