One of the more common A/C repair issues occurs when the indoor unit, or a split-system air conditioner, freezes up. When this happens, an A/C unit won’t be able to properly cool the home, and may not work at all.
An ac unit in the summer
Source: istockphotos
If this is something that repeats itself, it could cause long-term damage to your air conditioner. And just at a basic level, losing household cooling in the middle of the summer is not something you want to happen.
Why Your Outside AC Unit Might Freeze Up in the Summer
The most common cause for ice build-up in an A/C unit is lack of airflow across the evaporator coil. In a central air conditioner, this coil extracts heat from the air when pressure is lowered on refrigerant in the coil.
This causes the liquid refrigerant to boil, and as it does, it removes heat and moisture from the air. If there’s not enough air blowing across the coil, it can’t absorb enough heat. The temperature of the refrigerant will continue dropping until the coil freezes. This could be caused by a clogged air filter, a dirty evaporator coil, or blocked registers in the house. Luckily, all of these issues can be corrected.
Solutions for a Frozen A/C Unit near The Woodlands
When refrigerant is low, but it’s being allowed to expand as much as the correct level would expand, this also will increase its cooling. Moisture in the air coming in contact with the cold coil may freeze. Any frozen air conditioner issues involving refrigerant should be addressed by a certified professional.
If your A/C is working too hard, this can freeze the system. For example, if it’s very hot outside – say, 95 degrees F – and you set the thermostat to 64, that’s too much to ask of a standard air conditioning system. This could result in frozen air conditioner issues.
A variety of mechanical defects also could cause A/C freeze-up, including a malfunctioning blower fan or compressor, or a kinked refrigerant line.
If you can’t figure out why the air conditioner in The Woodlands area home is freezing up, please contact us at Bradbury Brothers Heating & Air Conditioning. We can find and fix the issue.
