The summer can get very hot in Omaha, so how in the world is your home’s air conditioner freezing over? It seems to make no sense. You may not even realize it’s taking place. How will you determine if your air conditioner is frozen? It may seem like a silly question, but you usually won’t actually see the ice except in extreme cases. Here are symptoms to watch for that indicate you could be dealing with a frozen AC system that could need air conditioning service:
- Warm air is coming out of your registers while the air conditioner is operating.
- Water is leaking from or collecting under your air conditioner.
When we say your home’s air conditioner is frozen, what’s actually frozen is the evaporator coil, which transports heat out of your home to maintain the cooler temperatures. There are two main explanations that an evaporator coil may freeze; one is a refrigerant leak and the other is a blockage of airflow.
If your air conditioner has a refrigerant leak, you will want to speak with your Interstate Heating & Air Conditioning technician during your air conditioning service appointment to see if you will benefit more from repairing or replacing your air conditioner. We can help you assess the pros and cons using facts such as the age of your air conditioner and its service history, as well as other things.
If your air conditioner has frozen because of an airflow blockage, it’s because there isn’t sufficient air passing over the evaporator coil to dry the condensation that builds up on it—then it freezes. Air flow blockages are commonly caused by dirty air filters or even dirty cooling fins. These problems can be fixed (and avoided!) by a routine air conditioner service appointment. At these service sessions, your technician will clean your system, replace your air filters and make sure everything is running as it should with no potential problems on the horizon. It’s also a valuable idea to mark your calendar or set a reminder on your phone to check your air filters often and change the filters when they are dirty. Always make sure that furniture, curtains and other household items aren’t blocking your registers, as even this could cause a serious airflow problem and the ensuing freezing problems.
If your air conditioner freezes, turn it off using your thermostat and call the team at Interstate Heating & Air Conditioning to schedule an air conditioning service appointment. We’ll help you identify the issue and have your home back to cool and comfortable in no time. Call us at 402-509-5940 to schedule an appointment with us.