Don’t panic. When your air conditioning unit freezes up, don’t get all frightened – even if you already see chunks of ice sitting on your AC unit system in the middle of summer. While it seems unthinkable to happen on what is supposed to be the hottest days of the year, for most air conditioning units, this can actually happen frequently.
Despite the irony, the possibility of your AC unit freezing up is high. The scenario itself is not the issue. The problem comes when homeowners don’t have the knowledge and understanding of how to address and prevent this problem.
Again, don’t panic. If you don’t want to experience this kind of problem, keep reading to learn more about what causes this issue, what to do when air conditioning freezes up, and how to resolve and prevent this problem from occurring once again.
First, What Causes Your Air Conditioning Unit to Freeze?
Before diving into what might cause your air conditioning unit to freeze, we must be on the same page when it comes to the basics of how AC units work. First, note that when the air feels hot, the molecules in the air have a lot of energy; hence, they keep on rapidly moving around. This works the other way when the cold air is compressed – it decreases and expands.
Now, your air conditioning unit is full of cold refrigerant. When the coil gets activated, it warms the air and blows across them. By doing so, the indoor coil removes the heat from the inside air and transfers it to the outdoor coil using the refrigerant. When the HVAC system is functioning at its best, the process goes on without any problems.
However, when the AC unit malfunctions, the whole air conditioning unit system gets disrupted, causing the evaporator coil to allow the refrigerant to cool too much. As a result, the air conditioning unit freezes up and ices all over the place.
So, What Should You Do When Your AC Unit Freezes Up?
As mentioned earlier, do not panic. When your AC unit starts freezing up, here are some of the steps that you can do to avoid further damage.
- Thaw Your Air Conditioner
Depending on the amount of ice formed, unfreezing your AC unit can take one hour to a whole day. To help solve this problem, switch your thermostat from cool to off. Obviously, this will affect the temperature inside your household. However, if you want to save your frozen AC coil, you have to do this as this may affect the most valuable and expensive part of your electronic appliance: the compressor.
- Dry Your AC Unit
Once you’ve made sure that the ice has completely melted away, dry the evaporator coils. You may use paper towels or have the parts dried out under the heat of the sun. After that, you may try to restore the power and turn the blower on. Once the air begins to circulate around and through the coils, the system can immediately resume its normal operation.
- Identify What Caused Your AC To Freeze up and Have it Fixed
It’s not by accident that your AC unit started freezing up. There are several reasons for that. It can be due to poor air circulation, low refrigerant, or an extremely low outdoor temperature.
If you find all this too technical to work on, don’t stress yourself and call the most reliable professional HVAC service provider in Las Vegas. Avoid unnecessary expenses and repairs by making sure that your AC units are regularly checked and maintained by Fast Affordable Air.
Don’t wait for your air conditioning unit to freeze before you give it the tender loving care it deserves. Give us a call and we’d be happy to provide free new AC estimates, free second opinions, and top-notch comfort, safety, and performance services to your house and office in Las Vegas!
