The last thing you want is your central air conditioning unit not working properly on a hot weekend when you are home.
If your air conditioner is not cooling your house, it goes without saying that something is off somewhere. There is a high possibility that the situation can be easily addressed. But then before you can address it, you have to know the cause.
This is why we are going to highlight possible factors that may have affected the cooling effectiveness of your air conditioner.
Table of Contents
Reasons Why Your Air Conditioner Is Not Cooling The House
Your Air Filter Is Clogged
This is often the reason why your air conditioner might not be cooling the house. An AC system works by drawing hot air from the room with the aid of the refrigerant in the evaporator coils.
This air travels through the compressor and condenser and then makes a return journey back to the room after it has cooled. However, this process can be hindered if the blower fan is not providing sufficient airflow on the unit’s evaporator coils. This bad air circulation is bound to create ice formation on the coils.
This ice or frost formation will freeze the air handler and clog the air filter which means the air-cooling capacity of your air conditioner will be reduced. In summary, lack of airflow circulation within the air conditioner leads to a clogged air filter which in turn limits the amount of air coming through the vents into your house.
Also, it is important to point out that some air conditioners are programmed to shut down automatically if the air filter is clogged. This is to prevent overheating and damage to the air conditioner’s motor.
To resolve this issue. You will have to take out the air filter If they can be reused, simply wash and reattach them. However, if they are disposable air filters, you will need to replace them. It is advised to change your AC air filter twice or thrice in a year for optimal performance.
Dirty Condenser Coils
The air conditioner condenser coils are located on the outdoor unit of the AC system. They help with the heat extraction from the pressured refrigerant gas coming from the compressor. It also helps in dispensing this extracted heat. If this heat is not dispensed properly, your air conditioner unit won’t be cool enough to provide the cooling that your house needs.
So, what can make the condenser coil less effective? The answer is simple, it’s dirt. Once the condenser coils start to get really dirty and filled with grime, it will not be able to perform effectively. This means you need a clean condenser coil for better heat dispensation which in turn allows for better airflow.
A Faulty Blower
This might be another reason why your air conditioner has not been blowing cool air into your house. In all air conditioners, there is a blower or fan that draws in hot air from the room onto the evaporator coil and also helps to blow cool air back into your house.
If the blower is not running as it should or maybe it has stopped running altogether, it will be unable to draw in hot air into the evaporator. This results in the coils becoming extremely cold to the point of ice being formed on them. This frost will only add to the initial airflow problem.
How do you know if you have a faulty blower? You will have to do some unscrewing to get to the blower. After doing this, check the blower blades and its motor to see if they can still turn properly. If they don’t, they are definitely faulty. You should probably get an expert to check it out for you if you are unsure about what to do.
Defective Compressor Cooling Fan
The compressor cooling fan is located directly in front of the condenser. As mentioned earlier, the condenser does a lot of heat dispensing jobs. This means that it gets really heated. The cooling fan helps to cool it down to prevent it from getting overheated. If this fan is faulty, it affects your condenser. This will definitely affect the air-cooling process
Defective Thermostat
If the blower and filters show no sign of damage and clogging, try checking your thermostat. The thermostat is a device that detects the temperature in the room and sends a signal to the compressor to begin or end the cooling process once the temperature is at the right level. The thermostat receives the signal to put the compressor on or off from the sensor bulb that is attached to its control.
Now, if the thermostat has become faulty, it won’t be able to send signals to the compressor. There are two problems attached to this. One, your air conditioner will not cool your room. Two, your compressor will not turn off when the room temperature reaches a perfect level. This means that the room might end up becoming too cold.
A Defective Compressor
Every part of the air conditioner is crucial. However, the compressor is the most integral component. No cooling can be done without the compressor. A compressor pressurizes the coolant coming from the evaporator coils before sending it down to the condenser. In other words, if the AC’s compressor is faulty, no cooling process will occur.
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The Air Conditioner Cooling Capacity
All air conditioners have varying cooling capacities. For a better cooling process, the square footage measurement of the room must align with what the AC unit can work with.
In addition, the number of people occupying the room will also have an effect on the cooling capacity of the air conditioner. If there is no sync between these two, the air conditioner might not be able to cool your home the way you want it to.
Using A Portable Air Conditioner
This is very important to know. While a portable AC system is cheap and great for cooling, it might be too small for the room you have installed it in. Installing a portable AC system in a big room will make it hard for it to cool the entirety of the room. The solution is to get the appropriate AC size for the room. Check out our article on How to Measure a Room For an AC Unit.
The Capacitor
You might want to consider this as a possible cause if you are using a window type air conditioner. This is because a lot of window type AC units are designed to make use of the capacitor in starting the compressor. This means if your AC unit’s capacitor is not working, the compressor will not work. And if the compressor is not working, there will be no cooling.
To ascertain if the capacitor is the problem, you will have to remove the unit’s cover to access it and check for damages. If you come across any, enlist the service of a technician that can fix it for you.
A Faulty Control/ Circuit Board
The control board, also known as the Printed Circuit Board, works together with the thermostat. It can also be the cause of insufficient cool air in the house. The PCB helps in regulating the room temperature by signaling the thermostat to start or stop the compressor. A PCB will be incapable of performing such a task if it is corroded or has been ruptured. This means there will no air cooling until the problem is fixed. You will most likely be required to get a replacement.
Insufficient Refrigerant
The refrigerant, also known as coolant, absorbs the hot air drawn from the room into the evaporator coils. It goes from there into the compressor where it is pressured. This is then transferred to the condenser where the heat is extracted and it becomes a high-pressure liquid. It circulates back as cool air into the room.
Now, the refrigerant can’t go bad. However, a slow refrigerant leak is possible. This leak can reduce the coolant level. Also, a refrigerant leak will lead to a noticeable depletion in the production of cool air from the AC unit into your house.
The best way to fix this problem is to get a professional as the process is quite technical.
The Remote Control
This is probably the first device to check if you have cool air circulation issues in your home. The remote control is used in sending signals to the air conditioner when you want to increase or decrease its cooling effect. If the remote control is bad, the AC will not receive the signal. The problem can be easily resolved by buying a new remote control that works best with your unit.
Conclusion
All the parts of the air conditioner play a crucial role in cooling any room. If one of these parts becomes defective, it is bound to affect the air-cooling process. This implies that none is indispensable.
Also, if you are able to figure out the reason for the glitch in the cooling process, attend to it immediately. If the problem is more technical, get professional help.
