The summer can get very hot in Bend, so how in the world is your air conditioner freezing over? It seems to make no sense. You may not even realize it’s occurring. How will you determine if your air conditioner is frozen? It may seem like a ridiculous question, but you usually 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 need air conditioning service:
- Warm air is coming out of your registers while the air conditioner is operating.
- Water is leaking from or gathering under your air conditioner.
When we say your home’s air conditioner is frozen, what’s actually frozen is the evaporator coil, which moves heat out of your home to maintain the cooler temperatures. There are two main causes 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 Tri County Climate Control LLC 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 facts such as the age of your air conditioner and its service history, along with other things.
If your air conditioner has frozen due to an airflow blockage, it’s because there is not enough air passing over the evaporator coil to dry the condensation that develops on it—then it freezes. Air flow blockages are regularly 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 challenges 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 your air filters when they are dirty. Always be sure that furniture, curtains and other household items aren’t blocking your registers, as even this could cause a significant airflow problem and the subsequent freezing problems.
If your air conditioner freezes, turn it off using your thermostat and call the experts at Tri County Climate Control LLC 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 541-238-2797 to schedule an appointment with us.