Understanding Why Your Spring AC Is Not Cooling

7 Things To Check When Your Air Conditioner Is Not Cooling Your Home In Spring

Does your air conditioner run constantly through the day and still never gets down to the temperature you set on the thermostat?

Your air conditioner is more efficient when it runs longer, but it is designed to cycle on and off throughout the day. If it never shuts off, it is time to figure out why.

Here are 7 things to check if your air conditioner does not cool your home:

Is Your Air Filter Dirty?

When was the last time you changed your air filter? You should check it every month and change or clean it when it's dirty.

How often do you change the air filter in your HVAC unit? It should be checked monthly. If it is dirty, replace it. Air filters are inexpensive, so you should consider replacing them monthly.

Dirty air filters kill air flow, making your air conditioner work harder. The dirty filter reduces the amount of cool air that flows into your home, so your home takes longer to cool down. Changing out the filter gives you better airflow and could save money on your electric bill.

Are Any Of Your Vents Closed Or Blocked Off?

You may be tempted to close the vents in unused rooms to save money, but did you know that may cost you more?

Let's take a quick look at how your central air conditioning works, so you can understand why shutting your vents is not a good idea.

The blower in your HVAC system circulates air in your home by drawing air in through the return ducts, cooling the air, and then pushing it back out through the supply vents. The supply vents are the vents you can feel air blowing out of.

When you obstruct return grills, the air conditioning system cannot pull air into the system to cool it properly. When you close supply vents, you put additional back pressure on the system, forcing it to work harder. The cooled air still flows down the ducts to the vent, but then cannot exist. You are cooling the ducts, not your home.

Is Your Condenser Unit Clean? (The outside AC Unit)

Check the cooling fins on your outdoor unit. Do they appear to be packed with dirt, grass clippings, or debris? Then it needs to be cleaned.

Your AC pulls the heat from your home and transfers it to the condenser unit outside. The fan in your condenser until blows air over the refrigerant lines to cool them. When the cooling fins on your condenser are packed with dirt, it can't cool the warm lines efficiently. This leads to your AC running longer and not cooling effectively.

Is The Refrigerant Level OK?

Your AC unit uses a refrigerant gas to quickly cool the air. If the refrigerant level drops, the AC cannot cool the air properly and your home won't cool down efficiently.

The refrigerant is not burned up in use. It is circulated in the AC system, but if it leaks out, your AC becomes inefficient. It will need to be fixed and recharged.

Do Your Ducts Leak?

Your air ducts are one of the hidden and usually ignored components of your cooling system. They carry the cool air from the blower to each room in your home. If the ducts leak, you may be cooling your attic, basement, or crawl space instead of your home. Your AC could be working perfectly, but the cool air isn't getting where you want it.

Does Your Home Have Air Leaks? (Drafty Homes)

People always notice their drafty homes in the winter when a cool breeze crawls into your home, but they may ignore them in the hotter months. Those same air leaks make it hard for your AC to keep up, too.

Check for a leak around your doors, windows, vents, and any other openings to the outside. Sealing leaks keeps the cool air inside and the hot air outdoors.

Is Your Air Conditioner Big Enough?

If your air conditioner is not the right size for your home, it may run endlessly. It may be running perfectly, but due to being undersized, it cannot remove heat faster than the sun heats your home.

Do You Need Help Fixing These Problems?

Schiller Services can help determine what is causing your air conditioning issue and get it fixed. We serve the entire Houston metro area. Feel free to contact us or call us today!

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