Table of Contents
Keep Your Air Conditioner From Freezing Up With These 5 Tips #1: Have Your HVAC Technician Check for Refrigerant Leaks. #2: Check and Change Your Air Filter. #3: Make Sure Your Blower Fan Is Working Properly. #4: Check Your Condensate Drain Line. #5: Check Your Vents.
How do I stop my air conditioner from freezing up?
To sum up, here’s what you need to do to prevent the A/C from freezing: Have the refrigerant level checked. Change the filter monthly. Keep the supply vents open. Have the fan speed increased. Have the thermostat checked out. Inspect the condensate drain weekly. Make sure any window units you have are angled correctly.
Is it normal for an AC unit to freeze up?
Air conditioners are full of moving parts that can get stuck, broken, or clogged. Refrigerant lines can kink, fans can stop moving, filters can become clogged, and things can leak. A too-low level of refrigerant is also known to cause freezing up. Some of these problems are easier and cheaper to fix than others.
What do you do when air conditioner freezes up?
By turning the fan on it forces your AC’s indoor fan to blow warm air non-stop over your AC’s frozen coils. This will help the ice thaw faster. Tip: Do not turn your fan setting to AUTO. This setting only runs the blower motor during a cooling cycle.
Why does my AC keep freezing up at night?
If there is not enough air flowing through your air conditioning system, your evaporator coil will eventually freeze up and cause your AC unit to freeze up and stop working. The most common cause of this is a dirty air filter. Air flow problems can also be caused by a faulty fan or closed or blocked ducts and vents.
Can a clogged drain cause AC to freeze?
Drainage Problems One of the jobs of the evaporator coil is to remove excess moisture from the air. If something clogs the drain, backed-up water can freeze all the way up to the evaporator coil.
Can high humidity cause an air conditioner to freeze up?
High moisture levels can impact your evaporator coils, causing them to freeze up. If airflow through the system is restricted, from a dirty air filter or other issue, excess humidity can build up and cause the evaporator coil to freeze.
How do you unfreeze an AC unit?
Thaw Out Your AC To thaw the ice out, first, you need to turn the AC’s thermostat off and turn the fan on. Leave the fan on for a few hours to allow the unit to fully defrost. In some cases, it may thaw out after an hour. In other, more extreme cases, you may need to leave the fan on for a full 24 hours.
What causes air conditioner compressor to freeze up?
What Can Cause a Frozen Compressor? A clogged air filter that’s limiting the amount of air that’s moving over the cooling coil. Insufficient refrigerant or too much refrigerant that are causing icy buildup while destroying your compressor. A broken blower motor that’s not funneling warm air over the cooling coil.
How do I know if my evaporator coil is frozen?
Signs of a Frozen Evaporator Coil Your AC is not cooling. Ice is present around the outdoor refrigerant line. Your evaporator coil has condensation and/or ice forming on it. The condensate drain line is clogged. The condensate drain pan is overflowing.
How long can AC run before freezing?
An Air Conditioner Should Run for 15-20 Minutes at a Time. In a perfect situation, an air conditioner should run for 15-20 minutes at a time in mild temperatures. Any less than that and your AC could be too large for your home – more on that below.
What causes a AC coil to freeze?
AC coils freeze for a variety of reasons—the most common, though, is lack of airflow. Dirty air filters or problems with your duct work can cause weak airflow, which hinders your equipment and its ability to keep coils warm and running properly. Temperatures drop and the AC coils freeze.
Is 72 too cold for AC?
If you ask the average homeowner what they set their thermostat to, many of them will say 72 degrees. However, according to the Department of Energy, that number is far too high. The Department of Energy recommends setting your home thermostat to 78 degrees during the summer months.
What happens if AC drain is clogged?
When your drain line clogs, the water that your air conditioner produces has nowhere to go. Eventually, a completely blocked drain line will cause the water in your drain pan to overflow, resulting in potentially catastrophic damage to your home.
How do I know if my AC condensate line is clogged?
A clogged AC drain line symptoms include: Musty, moldy smell near your indoor unit or in air from the registers/vents. Standing water near the indoor unit. Water damage in areas near the indoor unit. AC system is not cooling your home. AC system shuts down or doesn’t turn on.
What causes icing in air conditioners?
Causes of an A/C Icing Up Air conditioners freeze because the temperature in the condenser’s evaporator coil has dropped too low. The intake should be receiving steamy air typical of Alpharetta in the summer and sending it outside your home. A/C units ice up when the flow of hot air has stopped.
How do you know if your air conditioner is freezing up?
Other than visible ice on any part of your HVAC unit, the next most obvious sign of a frozen AC unit is a lack of cool air. If you put your hand in front of your supply vents and you sense warm air coming out, you probably have ice somewhere in the system. You may also notice a hissing sound coming from the unit.
