The summer is coming (hard to believe, isn’t it?)
And here’s what most homeowners find themselves doing: enjoying a nice bowl of popcorn while watching their favorite show on Netflix when they hear a distant — and scary — dripping noise.
They check to see what caused the dripping sound only to find their beloved pet licking up the puddle forming on the dining room floor. Now, that’s a scary moment: anxiety, worry, and fear… what caused this leak?
The answer could be the water heater, leaky toilet, shower, or faucet but chances are good your air conditioning unit evaporator coil has frozen over.
This occurs anywhere there are no snowflakes from Albuquerque to Placitas when it gets very warm in the summer.
Why A/C Units Freeze Up
When your air conditioner freezes up, technically the evaporator coil on the condenser is freezing. The evaporator coil of an air conditioning unit evaporates heat from your living space through the walls of your house. There are two primary reasons why an evaporator coil will freeze:
- Restricted airflow through the system
- Low refrigerant in the system
In either case when the evaporator coil has too much coolness it will make water from the condensation build up; eventually the moisture from the condensation will freeze and that means your air conditioner is now an outdated icebox.
What Should I Do to Fix My Frozen A/C?
You can do the following steps to address the issue. First, turn off the unit completely at the thermostat and DON’T try to thaw the refrigerator by increasing the thermostat’s temperature. Make sure the A/C is also turned OFF (if you can see the “ON” light on the thermostat then you have confirmation).
You need to make certain that there are no objects blocking air flowing around your air conditioning unit. If the air is blocked replace the filter in the furnace or air handler and replace any return air filters obstructing the unit. Open all registers completely and/or verify that they are not obstructed by furniture or curtains.
Call Service Experts to have your unit inspected. An A/C unit should be serviced by an ACE certified technician to determine if there are any refrigerant leaks or damage to equipment. You may schedule service for an A/C performance inspection, or repair diagnostic online, or by calling an ACE certified tech in real-time.
What Will It Cost to Repair My Frozen Unit?
If your air conditioning unit has frozen over, then your unit may incur some substantial repair costs. A welded compressor can cost as much as the down payment on a new A/C high-efficiency unit. Many people will probably have to choose to purchase a new system or get their current frozen unit repaired and you will have a better chance of incurring lower costs if you follow the above steps and call an ACE certified technician.
Your ACE certified technician will be able to Diagnose what caused your A/C unit to freeze and have recommendations on how to avoid this situation again. If there is a leak (and they are more than likely never) the leak must be repair or the equipment will freeze again.
Final Statements on A/C Units Freezing Up
Once your A/C unit freezes up, it does not blow cold air and therefore make your house uncomfortably hot. If your A/C has frozen and you turned it off completely and left it off for approximately an hour, after the unit melted ice on the outside, it should work if you turn the room temperature down to around 72 degrees and turn on the A/C again and will hopefully perform normally. If after doing this step to resuming normal operation or if the unit does not begin to function correctly, you should contact an A/C professional and have them diagnose and repair the unit.
