The use of air conditioning takes up about 6% of the energy produced in the United States.

Since we rely so heavily on air conditioning, it can be a total bummer when your AC stops working. For health reasons, you especially need a working AC unit for the elderly, kids, and pets.

If your AC isn’t working correctly, it may be because of a frozen AC unit!

Keep reading to learn how you can tell if your AC has frozen, as well as how to fix it.

How Can You Tell If You Have a Frozen AC Unit?

Ice buildup is one of the most common reasons for an air conditioner to malfunction, but luckily, there are red flags for this problem.

Desired Temperature Not Being Reached

If the temperature you’ve set your air conditioner to isn’t being reached, this is one of the first signs of a frozen AC unit.

This problem is often noticeable upstairs first because the heat in your home rises. If you feel the upstairs isn’t cooling off enough, try placing your hand over the registers to check for cold air. If no cold air is coming out, your AC unit may be frozen.

Take a Look Inside

Once you’ve noticed that cool air isn’t coming out of your supply registers, it’s time to take a look in the AC unit.

Before you start investigating to find the source of the problem, make sure that you have turned off the system. Once the system is turned off, open the access panel to the evaporator to check for frozen parts in your AC.

If any of the components of your AC are encased in ice, that means the temperature has fallen under 32 degrees Fahrenheit.

How to Fix a Frozen AC

You may be able to unfreeze the AC unit yourself.

Before you begin trying to unfreeze the AC unit, make sure you have the system turned off. It can damage the compressor and cause it to burn out if you continue to run a frozen AC unit.

Once you’ve turned the system off, try to give the unit around 24 hours to thaw itself out. Along with allowing the system to slowly thaw, you can also turn on the blower which will help thaw the evaporator coils.

It’s important to avoid clearing ice with your hands or any tools. Attempting to pry ice off of the components could cause further damage to the system.

Once the ice has thawed, clean up any water that has pooled around the unit and dry the thawed AC parts. To dry the components, turn on the fan or the blower to your AC unit.

A hairdryer set on a low heat can also help speed up the drying process, just make sure you don’t get it too close. This can crack the coils.

If you’re having a difficult time unfreezing the system, it may be wise to call in a professional.

Don’t Let a Frozen AC Unit Get You Down

If you have a frozen AC unit then the repair should be pretty simple.

If you have any questions about how to repair your frozen AC, reach out to us today!