Keeping your air conditioning system in working order is important for keeping your home comfortable throughout the summer. Annual maintenance helps in avoiding many common AC issues, but AC systems often still end up developing various issues. Promptly having your broken system repaired is essential since it makes a difference in your comfort level, energy bills and potentially also how long your AC system lasts. Be on the lookout for these six signs that your air conditioning needs repairs.
1. AC Can’t Maintain the Correct Temperature
The most obvious sign that your air conditioning isn’t working properly is if it can’t keep your home at whatever temperature you have your thermostat set to. If your AC system is the correct size for your home and working effectively, it should never have issues maintaining the correct temperature on even the hottest, most humid summer days. If your air conditioning runs continuously and the temperature inside your house continues to increase or never decreases to where your AC should shut off, you can be certain that it either needs to be repaired or is beginning to fail and should be replaced.
A certified HVAC technician can repair virtually every issue that an AC system may experience, but not all repairs are worth it. Some repairs like replacing a failed compressor can be so costly that you may end up paying close to what you’d pay to replace your entire AC system. You’re also usually better off opting for AC replacement instead of repairs if your system is already near the end of its life.
2. Long Cooling Cycles
Most air conditioning systems are set up so that the thermostat signals the system to run once it senses that the home is 1-2 degrees warmer than the desired temperature. When an AC system is just maintaining the temperature and not trying to cool the house by more than 1-2 degrees, it typically shouldn’t take more than 15 to 20 minutes to cool the home back down and the system to shut off. It may take a bit longer on extremely hot, humid days or if your home is poorly insulated. Nonetheless, the length of each cooling cycle should be fairly consistent from month to month and year to year.
If the length of the cooling cycles starts increasing and your AC stays on much longer than normal, it’s another sign that there is an issue preventing your air conditioning from cooling as quickly and effectively as it should. The first thing to check in this situation is if the air filter needs to be changed. If the filter is clean or replacing it doesn’t improve the system’s performance, you’ll need to have a technician perform a diagnostic assessment to determine why your AC isn’t cooling as effectively as it should.
3. Increased Electricity Bills
Air conditioning usually accounts for anywhere from 15%-40% of a home’s total electricity consumption during the summer months. An unexpected increase in your electricity bill from one month to the next can indicate there’s an issue with your electrical system, but it more commonly is a sign that your air conditioning isn’t working properly. Your electricity bill will obviously increase if your air conditioning starts running much more than normal, but there are also issues that can lead to any of the system’s motors drawing more power than they should.
4. AC Shuts Off Too Soon
There are also a variety of issues that can cause an air conditioning system to shut off prematurely before it has cooled the house to the correct temperature. In some cases, an AC system may end up shutting off prematurely at times because of an electrical issue or a malfunctioning thermostat. That said, it most commonly happens because some issue is causing the compressor or the blower to overheat, which triggers the AC system to shut down so that it doesn’t get damaged. Overheating can happen because the compressor or blower is malfunctioning or because the blower or condenser coil is dirty. The blower can end up overheating as a result of a dirty air filter as well, so this is the first thing to check.
5. AC Keeps Tripping the Circuit Breaker
Your air conditioning system is wired to an independent 240-volt circuit with its own circuit breaker. There can be situations where something causes the power to surge and trips the circuit breaker. That’s why you should always check if the breaker is tripped if you can’t get your AC to turn on. Resetting the breaker if it’s tripped should result in your air conditioning turning on fairly quickly. If your AC then runs normally, you usually don’t have anything to worry about.
Situations where you do need to worry and seek professional assistance are if the breaker immediately trips again and your air conditioning keeps occasionally tripping the breaker. In either case, it indicates that there is either an electrical issue causing the system to short circuit or that one of the motors is drawing excessive power and overloading the circuit. The latter issue can happen if the blower, compressor or condenser fan motor is malfunctioning or starting to wear out.
Another possibility is that the system has a bad start capacitor or run capacitor. Capacitors are essentially large batteries that supply additional electricity to the AC motors. The motors require a huge amount of electricity to start up, and the start capacitor supplies the additional electricity needed for the motors to start without them drawing so much power that they overload the circuit and trip the breaker. The run capacitor then supplies the additional current needed for the motors to keep running. If either capacitor is bad or starting to fail, it can result in the circuit breaker tripping when your AC tries to start or occasionally tripping when it’s running.
5. Unusual Sounds
Certain issues can result in the indoor or outdoor part of your AC system making loud, unusual sounds like squealing, screeching, grinding, rattling, buzzing, humming, hissing, whistling, etc. Any unusual sounds are a sure sign that your AC needs to be repaired or is starting to fail. For instance, a hissing sound indicates that the system has a refrigerant leak while squealing and screeching sounds usually indicate that the bearings in one of the motors are wearing out and need replacing. Humming or buzzing noises are often more serious since they typically mean one of the motors itself is wearing out or that the system has an electrical issue.
6. AC Starts Blowing Hot Air
Hot air blowing out of your vents when your AC is running is usually a sign that the evaporator coil is frozen. When facing this issue, it’s essential that you turn your AC off, or else the compressor could suffer irreparable damage. While you’re waiting for the ice on the coil to fully melt, you should make sure that the air filter doesn’t need to be replaced since a dirty filter will often cause your AC to freeze. The other possibilities are that the system is leaking and low on refrigerant or that the blower is dirty, malfunctioning or wearing out.
Green Dot Heating & Air is the company to turn to for air conditioning and heating repairs in the Wilmington area. Our technicians can repair and service any make and model of central or ductless HVAC system, and we’re also here to help with your installation and replacement needs. If your AC isn’t working properly, contact us today to schedule a diagnostic service.
