What Causes an Air Conditioner to Freeze Up?
During the warm season, when you use the air conditioner often, it can get iced up. You may think that AC freezing is a good thing that will help produce more cooling. However, the air conditioner works well through controlled pressure, airflow, and temperature.
When this destabilizes, the refrigerator system may overclock and freeze without cooling your air at all. You are probably asking how an appliance that works all through the hottest days of the year freezes. Please keep reading to gain more insight.
How your AC Makes cold air
Before we dive into the problem, it would be wise if you understand how your AC works. Generally, the device pumps hot air from your house to the outside. The AC contains an extremely cold refrigerant that requires warm air to blow across it.
When you activate your device, the blower in the inside part pulls over all the warm air from the room and sends it to the refrigerant coil. The basics being, heat loves to move from warmer sections to the colder areas. When the warm air gets to the refrigerant, it begins to boil, changing the state from liquid to vapor.
Further, the vaporized air flows to the compressor unit, which pumps it at higher pressure to increase the temperature. So, why would we need hot conditions at this point? Well, heat often flows from warmer to frozen sections. From step one, we got cold air, and if we want to get the heat out of the compressor to the outside, we may have to increase the temperature.
The hot vaporized refrigerant proceeds to another coil, surrounding the compressor. It contains a fan that pulls in cooler air from the outside and expels the warm vapor. As the refrigerant moves from the outdoor to an indoor unit, it gets through a particular section that allows the warm liquid air to expand in volume, decreasing the temperature even further.
So why do we lower the temperature again? We need to get the refrigerant system cooler than the indoor air to pull more heat out of the room.
The Effects of Humidity
When humidity levels spike up, your home will feel warmer. In this case, your AC will have to work a bit harder for more extended periods to remove the excess heat. The unit may thus begin to wear out.
With high moisture accumulation in the air, ice begins to form on the coils insulating it, in that the warm air won’t reach them. When this happens, your house will feel moist, with some foggy windows and a dump smell. Mostly, it occurs when you have an inefficient, older, or wrongly sized device.
Common Causes of Freezing up
There are multiple causes of your unit freeze up. It could be due to one or a few of the following.
Insufficient airflow
If the air conditioner fails to blow warm air across the refrigerant system properly, heat exchange will not occur efficiently. It could happen due to collapsed or blocked ducts, which stops air from flowing to the coils. Further, lousy blower motors may stop air from flowing fast enough to the coil.
Additionally, your AC requires electricity to run efficiently. In the case of low voltage, it underpowers the fans or motor, further contributing to the freezing problem. Lastly, most people neglect the air filter, which, when filled with dust, becomes clogged, slowing down airflow. When there is no enough air to keep them at an optimal temperature, the coils begin to freeze.
Low Refrigerant
The level of refrigerant in the coils affects pressure management in the AC. In a properly functioning system, the warm air converts the liquid refrigerant into a gas, dropping the pressure, then turns it back to a liquid and pushes it to the blower fan.
With low refrigerant levels, when the warm air moves to the compressor, it may condense the moisture and ice up the coils. High accumulation will affect airflow, and the system may fail to function appropriately.
Dirty Coils
If your system runs on a low-quality filter or none at all, dust may block the coils. Due to the moist air on the cooler surfaces, the coils appear dump often, and when dust blows across them, it may result in a thick build-up. Again, it obstructs airflow trapping cold air into the coil that causes freezing.
How to fix it
If you notice some ice build-up in your AC, first shut it off, let it thaw to prevent risking damage on the compressor. Next, check the condensate drain and ensure that it isn’t blocked. While the AC is still off, you can leave the fan on to add some airflow, which will help melt the ice faster, reducing the problem. In high-temperature areas like Phoenix, Arizona, it won’t take long for the ice to melt away.
Further, open the duct and suction out all the water. Once the ice fully melts and you unblock the drain pan, you can turn your system on. It should begin to work immediately, but if it fails to work, you may have to seek expert help.
A freezing AC is a problem that can be very frustrating. However, you can prevent this with some regular maintenance or fix it using the above tips. If your air conditioner still freezes up even after trying the above suggestions, you can reach out to us. Schedule an appointment, and we will meet all your AC maintenance and repair needs.