People worry about their air conditioning systems in their homes not turning on when they need them. The opposite problem can also occur—an air conditioner that comes on and then won’t shut off. Not only does this mean a house that’s too cold, it wastes massive amounts of energy!
What can cause this? As with most AC malfunctions, there are several possible suspects. We’ll go through the main ones to help you know when it’s time to call AC comfort for air conditioning repair in Sugar Land, TX that will stop your runaway cooling system.
Thermostat setting mistakes
If your AC won’t shut off, examine the thermostat settings to see if a simple error has caused the trouble. Maybe somebody in the house turned the thermostat down extremely low, thinking it would mean faster cooling (it doesn’t) and this low temperature is out of the AC’s capacity range. This will cause the air conditioner to run and run trying to reach an impossibly low setting.
Malfunctioning thermostat
The thermostat’s settings might be correct, but the thermostat is either not accurately reading the temperature indoors (a miscalibration) or it has lost its connection to the HVAC system that signals the compressor or the fan to shut off.
Clogged air filter
This is a common source of trouble, and it’s also one you can correct yourself. A clogged air filter will strangle off airflow through the AC, and this will force the air conditioner to continue to run to make up for the lack of air it’s able to cool and distribute to the house. Change the filter for a clean one.
Dirty condenser coil
The outdoor coil in the condenser cabinet can become covered with grime. This will impede how well the air conditioner can release the heat it draws from indoors to the outdoors. The air conditioner will run longer and longer trying to overcome this problem because it won’t be able to cool down the house as effectively.
Frozen evaporator coil
Meanwhile, indoors … the evaporator coil absorbs heat from the air to cool it. The coil can freeze over for a number of reasons (lack of airflow, grime on the coil surface, loss of refrigerant) and no longer be able to pull enough heat out of the air. This will again lead to the AC running more often as it tries to do its job.
Leaking refrigerant
The refrigerant in an AC is supposed to remain at the same level for the entire life of the unit. Leaks will allow the refrigerant to escape, and this will throw off the air conditioning system’s operation. The AC will lose its heat absorption ability, causing it to run long. Eventually, the low refrigerant will cause the compressor to overheat and shut down the entire air conditioner.
Undersized air conditioner
If this is a new air conditioner, the problem may be that it’s too small (underpowered) to cool the house properly. This often occurs if amateurs installed the air conditioner. The only way to solve this problem is to replace the AC with an accurately sized one.
At AC Comfort, Your Comfort Is Our Business! When you’ve got a nonstop AC, call us for speedy and accurate repairs.