Friday 12 September 2014

Three Minor Problems Which Can Seriously Affect the Cooling Unit

There are quite a number of common air conditioning problems that tend to affect overall performance of the cooling unit. These minor issues lead to more drastic problems such as the unit going off completely and needing an overhaul. There can be other problems like wasted energy, rising monthly power bills, non-performance or under performance of the air conditioning unit. All these might lead to the air conditioner replacement. Therefore, it is important that these minor problems are checked regularly and taken care of immediately, to ensure efficient performance of the cooling unit.

The three common and minor problems which can severely affect your cooling unit’s performance are:

1.      Uneven and insufficient cooling

This is one of the most common problems which every air conditioner user might have experienced now and then. It may happen that the air conditioning unit fails to cool your home sufficiently or evenly. This problem is caused due to inaccurate thermostat settings. Blame it on a dead battery too. The lower a thermostat is set, higher is the energy consumed by the central air. Therefore, thermostat settings should be adjusted reasonably and this objective can be best achieved using a programmable thermostat.

Duct lines that are cracked, disconnected or not installed properly may lead to conditioned air leaking out which eventually result in uneven cooling. The condenser unit present in the exterior part of the air conditioner might get clogged with leaves and other debris leading to underperformance of the cooling system.

2.      Short Cycling

The term “Short Cycling” refers to successive switching on and off sequences of the air conditioning system. This problem occurs either from dirty and iced coils or a clogged air filter.

Dirty or iced coils result in shutting down of the cooling unit as their ability to transfer heat gets restricted with accumulation of dirt or ice. A clogged air filter results in excessive buildup of dirt and debris inside coils and hence requires immediate cleaning. A high efficiency air filter surely helps avoid the problem of short cycling altogether.

3.      Failure of the cooling unit to turn or its abrupt shut down

A tripped circuit breaker is to be blamed if the air conditioner is not switching on properly or shutting down abruptly. The circuit just needs to be reset when this issue crops up. In some cases, the cooling unit fails to turn on if the thermostat is set too high. To avoid this issue, the thermostat should be adjusted 5 degrees lower than the initial point before restarting. Reasonable thermostat settings are to be adopted thereafter.

Apart from these aforementioned issues, the motor in air handler system may burnout due to clogged air filters. This means excessive energy is needed to push cool air through duct lines, thereby leading to failure of the cooling unit and its abrupt shutting down. Thus it is even more significant to clean the air filter regularly.

Regular maintenance of a cooling unit is absolutely vital for its efficient performance. Whenever you notice any of these minor cooling problems raising their heads, do immediately get in touch with an HVAC expert for unbiased guidance and timely action.

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