So you’ve come home from a long day at work and found your AC has frozen solid while your home is now hot as a sauna. Great.
What do you do now? Drop-kick it? Pour hot water over the frozen coils? Toss it out the window?! You may want to do ALL of the above… because it’s frustrating, and nobody wants to deal with a frozen AC.
Frozen AC units can make a mess from dripping condensation and leaking coolant. Often the first sign of a problem is a puddle on your floor or a stained carpet.
Sound fun? Heck no! So here’s a list of 6 causes of a freezing AC unit, with tips for preventative maintenance.
1. An Internal Obstruction
Sometimes the internal tubing in an air conditioner can develop a twist, which causes a backup of coolant or refrigerant fluids. Blockages can lead to ice building up on an AC, but may not be easy to detect at first glance.
2. Not Enough Coolant Fluid
If it’s been a while since an AC unit was last serviced, it could be low on coolant due to an AC coolant leak. Since air conditioners must have coolant to work, low levels can lead to temperature imbalances and breakdowns.
Fortunately, this is one of the more straightforward fixes regarding AC repair, provided the problem gets caught in time. Just adding more coolant or refrigerant usually solves the problem.
3. Dusty Coils
Although you might not think that dust is one of the causes of a freezing ac unit, it CAN be a cause of ice build-up.
When dust sits on an AC’s coils, it interferes with the cooling process by acting like a heat insulator.
A simple wipe-down of the coils every once in a while will help prevent this from happening.
4. Backed-Up Drainage Tubing
Sometimes an AC unit develops a clog in its condensation drainage system, leading to a frozen HVAC. This can happen after normal wear and tear.
5. Mechanical Breakdowns
Like it or not, air conditioners have electronic and mechanical parts susceptible to failure. For best results, it’s essential to have them periodically serviced. A malfunction in the unit’s thermostat can easily lead to you finding your HVAC frozen over.
6. Using an AC in Cold Weather
Although running an air conditioner in cooler weather doesn’t make sense, it’s easy to forget and leave it on, especially towards the end of summer and early fall. This can confuse the thermostat and start a cascade of other problems.
If you run your AC overnight and the temperature dips into the fifties, you may find that your AC unit has frozen in the morning. One way to avoid this is to install a programmable thermostat or AC unit that remembers your temperature preferences.
Don’t Get Stuck With a Frozen AC!
Now that we’ve reviewed some common causes of a frozen AC, you may be able to identify a way to solve the problem on your own. But if not, don’t worry. Help is a quick call away.
Contact us if you need to have your AC unit serviced or repaired. We work on residential and industrial air conditioning systems, with over 72 years of experience. We look forward to hearing from you soon!
