The summer can get so hot in Lake Forest, so how in the world is the air conditioner freezing over? It seems to make no sense. You may not even realize it’s happening. How will you determine if your air conditioner is frozen? It may seem like a crazy question, but you typically won’t actually see the ice except in extreme cases. Here are symptoms to watch for that indicate you could be working with a frozen AC system that could be in need of air conditioning service:
- Warm air is coming out of your registers while the air conditioner is operating.
- Water is leaking from or pooling under your air conditioner.
When we say your home’s air conditioner is frozen, what’s actually frozen is the evaporator coil, which transfers heat out of your home to sustain the cool temps. There are two main explanations that an evaporator coil may freeze; one is a refrigerant leak and the other is a blockage of airflow.
If your air conditioner has a refrigerant leak, you will want to talk with your 1st Choice Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. technician during your air conditioning service appointment to determine if you will benefit more from repairing or replacing your air conditioner. We can help you weigh the pros and cons using background such as the age of your air conditioner and its service history, among other things.
If your air conditioner has frozen because of an airflow blockage, it’s because there is not enough air passing over the evaporator coil to dry the condensation that acquires on it—then it freezes. Air flow blockages are commonly caused by dirty air filters or even dirty cooling fins. These problems can be fixed (and avoided!) by a routine air conditioner service appointment. At these service sessions, your technician will clean your system, replace your air filters and make sure everything is running as it should with no potential problems on the horizon. It’s also a valuable idea to mark your calendar or set a reminder on your phone to check your air filters regularly and change the filters when they are dirty. Always make sure that furniture, curtains and other household items aren’t blocking your registers, as even this could cause a large airflow problem and the following freezing problems.
If your air conditioner freezes, turn it off using your thermostat and call the pros at 1st Choice Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. to schedule an air conditioning service appointment. We’ll help you identify the complications and have your home back to cool and comfortable quickly. Call us at 949-204-0859 to arrange an appointment with us.