Showing posts with label air conditioning questions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label air conditioning questions. Show all posts
Monday, May 16, 2011
Troubleshooting Your Window Air-Conditioner
Window Mount Conditioners
If you use a window-mounted air-conditioner to keep your home cool, you know how powerful these little devices can be. Like a central AC system, a window air-conditioner has both indoor and outdoor components and when something goes wrong it can be difficult to determine where the problem lies.
Understanding Your Air-Conditioner
Inside the room you will find the evaporator coil, the part of the AC that gets cold, along with the fan or blower, the thermostat and controls, the filter and a plastic face panel.
Between the interior and exterior components is a panel that helps seal the unit in the window, preventing cool air from escaping and warm air from seeping in. This panel is usually expandable, so it is easy to customize the device to fit into your window, no matter what its size.
On the outside, you will find the air-conditioner’s compressor, the condenser and the fan that blows air across the condensing coil in order to cool it. Any moisture that collects inside the unit drains along the bottom and into a metal basin, which then drips to the outside of the house, through a hole or drain tube.
Now that you know the basics, it is time to take a look at some common in-room air-conditioner problems.
Water Dripping From the Front Panel
If you notice excess condensation or water dripping from the front of your air-conditioner, it almost always means that the drain pan is tilted incorrectly. Instead of guiding water toward the back of the unit and out of your home, the basin is allowing condensation to drain into the room.
Fortunately, correcting this problem is pretty simple. You just have to adjust the drain basin so that it tilts to the back of the unit and downward.
The Unit Cycles on and off Too Frequently
This generally indicates a problem with the unit’s thermostat or temperature sensor. Possible solutions include checking that the temperature sensor is positioned properly; near but not touching the evaporator coil. Move drapes and curtains away from the front panel. Remove leaves, branches and yard debris away from the exterior condenser. If none of these suggestions resolves the problem, call in a professional to service your AC unit, checking for refrigerant leaks and damaged components
Air-Conditioner Will Not Turn On
You could have a blown fuse, it could be a popped circuit breaker or the unit could be unplugged.
Obviously, you first want to make sure the air-conditioner is plugged in properly. If this fails to solve the problem you may have to replace the blown fuse or reset the breaker that connects to your AC’s power source.
Unit Keeps Blowing Fuses
If your AC is constantly popping the circuit breaker or blowing out fuses it usually means that it is hooked up to an inadequate power source.
Most residential window units require at least 120 volts of electricity operating off a 15amp circuit. You will need more power if your AC is larger. Run the air-conditioner from its own dedicated circuit; at least 20 amps, in order to correct the problem.
Related Air Conditioning Information from Horizon Services...
Thursday, July 8, 2010
We Answer Your Air Conditioning Questions!
The Horizon Comfort Zone receives lots of questions about plumbing, heating and air conditioning. With the summer heat upon us, we thought it would be a great opportunity to answer some air conditioning questions we have recently received from our readers.Question: Our air conditioner is working, but not very well. The air is somewhat cool, but it's not cool enough to keep us comfortable! Why isn't our air conditioner getting the job done?
Answer: There are a number of things that could diminish the cooling capacity of your air conditioner. The most common causes for this are a clogged air filter, or a loose fan belt. Another explanation is that your system is low on refrigerant. On top of not producing enough cool air, is your air conditioner starting and stopping frequently? If so, this may be caused by any of these same three problems.
The first thing you should try on your own is to see if the air filter is dirty. If so, clean it or replace it. In general, air conditioner filters should be replaced on a monthly basis.
Air conditioning fan belt and refrigerant issues are best left to the air conditoning pros. Unless you are familiar with air conditioning systems, a service technician will need to check whether the fan belt is loose or if the system is low on refrigerant. Still, these are simple problems to fix.
Other more serious problems that diminish air conditioning cooling capacity stem from the system design. For example, lack of return air ducts, or even oversized equipment are among the conditions that will diminish your air conditioner's cooling ability. These problems are fixable but are more complex and costly.
Question: I am not getting enough cool air from my air conditioning system. I checked to see if the furnace was running and I noticed some water on the floor around my furnace. Is there any connection here?
Answer: Your cooling coil may be frosted inside your air conditioning system. This happens when there’s not enough air getting through the system and passing over the cooling coil. Some simple things that you or your air conditioning technician can check are:
- Is the air filter dirty?
- Do you have any closed registers blocking the airflow?
- Are there some closed dampers in the duct lines?
Your cooling coil can also frost up again after you defrost it if your air conditioning system is low on refrigerant. Be sure to have your service technician check the level and make sure you have the right amount of refrigerant.
Question: My air conditioner is making some weird noises. Is this just because the air conditioner is old and cranky, or do I have a major air conditioning problem?
Answer: Odd noises coming from your air conditoning system are not typical. If you do hear strange noises, you probably do have a problem with your air conditioner, but the kind of problem you have depends on the kind of noise it is making. For example, if the outdoor unit is very noisy when it first starts up, this could mean that the compressor is working too hard. Check to see if leaves or grass are blocking the fins on the unit. If so, remove them so more air can get to the system.
If there are no leaves or grass blocking the fins, yet the air conditioning unit is still making noise, or if it makes a humming noise but doesn’t really start up, the compressor itself might be burned out. If so, it would need to be replaced.
If you hear a strange chattering noise, this means that the contact points in the wiring for your system are burned. You’ll need to call an air conditioning service technician to get them replaced.
Question: In the past, I’ve had the problem where our air conditioning wasn’t coming on and I had to go to the electrical box and reset the breaker or replace the fuse. But what if the air conditioner stops again? Is it okay to just keep resetting the breaker?
Answer: Occasionally a breaker trips or a fuse burns out (once every couple of years). In that case, sure, you can reset the breaker or replace the fuse again and see if that works. There’s no problem with doing that. However, if the problem persists and the air conditioning unit keeps starting and stopping—perhaps even over a period of weeks--then you need to call your air conditioning service technician. Something is clearly wrong with the air conditioning system that is causing the breaker to keep tripping.
Got a Plumbing, Heating or Air Conditioning Question for The Horizon Comfort Zone?
Send it to webmaster@horizonservicesinc.com.
Related Air Conditioning Information from Horizon Services...
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