How Can My Air Conditioner Be Freezing?

It’s Summer! 

I know, it seems crazy that it is hot outside and the air conditioner is covered in ice. What happened to cause this? It was not a visit from Elsa, I assure you.

As weird as it sounds, it is a common problem. There are two main reasons you will experience a frozen air conditioner.

1) Airflow Restriction

The amount of air that is normally flowing over the evaporator coil has been reduced or restricted, meaning there is less heat for the evaporator coil to absorb. This causes a drastic drop in temperature. Then, the moisture in the air condenses on the coil and freezes.

There are several reasons why you may have an airflow reduction, such as dirty air filter, dirty evaporator coil, blower motor malfunction, closed vents to unused rooms, or blocked return grills.

2) Low on Refrigerant

When your air conditioner is low on refrigerant (Freon), it will act much the same way as when the airflow is restricted. When it is low on refrigerant there is a pressure drop in the evaporator coil. When the pressure drops, so does the temperature. Same story, humid air hits freezing coil, condensates, and freezes. If it is low on refrigerant, that means you have a leak. A qualified technician will need to perform a leak check and fix the leak.

What Can I Do?

First, turn off your system at the thermostat and allow it to thaw completely.  Check your air filters and change them if they need replacing. Check for furniture or drapes that could be blocking return vents. Open up all of the air registers in your home. Once it has completely defrosted, check the airflow. It may be as simple as that. If that doesn’t fix it, give Quality Comfort Services, Inc. a call and we will do everything we can to get you back up and running. Your Quality Comfort Services technicians are NATE certified and carry the tools to troubleshoot any problem your system is experiencing. Your technician will identify the problem and obtain your approval for any repairs necessary.

Quality Comfort Services, Inc. provides service for all makes and models. Call us at (919) 217-5640 or visit us at www.qualitycomfortservicesinc.com.

A Little Prevention Goes A Long Way!

3 Ways to Get Your Air Conditioning Ready For The Summer Heat!

Spring has sprung and summer is coming. Here in the southeast, that means hot weather.  Many of us are already turning our air conditioning with the temperatures reaching into the 80’s. One must be ready for those fierce summer afternoons that are headed our way. The last thing most of us want to deal with is an air conditioner that fails in middle of July. If you were preparing for a long trip in your car, you would check the air in your tires, oil and coolant level. You would want to have it serviced before you hit the road. It is far better to discover a fan belt when it is showing wear than when it breaks and leaves you stranded and waiting on a wrecker to get you to a repair shop. The same is true of your air conditioner. Many times simple problems can be fixed before they lead to big problems. There are three things that you can do to ensure that your air conditioning system is operating efficiently and that it will keep you comfortable all summer long.

1) Check Your Air Filter Monthly.  Change it if it is dirty. A dirty filter will restrict airflow and cause your system to have to work much harder than necessary to cool your home.  Furthermore, it will cost you more energy dollars and could lead to repair cost.

2) Have a Qualified HVAC Technician Perform a Tune Up.  Before the heat of summer hits, an HVAC technician can inspect and clean your air conditioning system. This will ensure that your air conditioning system can operate at the capacity in which it was designed.  Any problems that he/she may find can be identified and repaired before summer hits and the wait time for repairs is longer.

    3)  Clean The Area Around Your Air Conditioning Equipment.  We often do not think about the area around our air conditioning equipment. Landscaping shrubs and plants can sometimes crowd the outdoor unit and impair efficient operation. Clear away or cut back anything that could be a problem. Also, when cutting grass be sure to cut with the exiting grass facing away from the unit. Keeping this area clean can protect your equipment from damage and enable it to operate without hindrance.

Keep Bushes Trimmed

A magic wand does not exist to keep us from experiencing problems with our air conditioning equipment, but these three things can improve our chances of avoiding an equipment failure in the middle of summer. For more information or assistance with preventive maintenance visit www.qualitycomfortservicesinc.com or give us a call at (919) 217-5640.