What To Check When Your AC Is Not Cooling
When the air conditioner stops keeping up on a Pensacola summer afternoon, the house warms up quickly, and with the humidity it feels worse than the thermometer says. Before you book a visit, a few safe checks can solve the problem or at least show our technicians where to start. If none of them fixes it, or anything looks wrong, our team is ready to get it handled by professionals. Call (850) 805-7098 today, and note what you already checked; it helps the diagnosis.
Five safe checks
- Thermostat. Make sure it is set to Cool, the set temperature is below the room temperature, and the fan is on Auto. Replace the batteries if the screen is blank or faint.
- Breakers. Check the breakers for both the indoor unit and the outdoor unit. Reset a tripped one once. If it trips again, leave it off and call.
- Filter. Pull the filter and hold it to the light. If you cannot see through it, replace it. A clogged filter is one of the most common reasons for weak cooling and frozen coils.
- Outdoor unit. With the system on, the fan on top should spin and the unit should hum. Clear leaves, grass and anything leaning against it. If the fan is not spinning but the unit hums, turn the system off.
- Drain line. Many indoor units have a float switch that shuts the system off when the condensate drain backs up. Look for water in the drain pan or around the indoor unit.
What not to touch
Do not open the electrical panels on the outdoor or indoor unit. Capacitors can hold a dangerous charge even with the power off. Do not add refrigerant or use store-bought recharge kits; low refrigerant means there is a leak that needs finding. Do not chip ice off a frozen coil. Turn the system off, set the fan to On so the coil thaws, and call. Do not hose the outdoor unit while it has power. Do not pour chemical drain cleaners into the condensate line.
When it is an emergency
Treat it as an emergency and call if there is a burning or electrical smell, sparking or smoke, a breaker that trips repeatedly, water coming through the ceiling, or ice on the copper lines. Treat it as urgent if anyone in the house is elderly, very young, pregnant or has a medical condition that makes heat dangerous: close the blinds, run fans, drink water and move them somewhere cool while you wait. Pensacola's hot season runs from late May to late September, and a house without cooling in that stretch heats up quickly.
If the checks above did not solve it, read about common HVAC problems in Pensacola or go straight to emergency HVAC. Call (850) 805-7098.