Top Reasons Your AC Is Struggling to Keep Up With the Summer Heat

Your air conditioner has one job: to keep your home comfortable when outside temperatures heat up. If your AC had a professional installation that ensured its cooling capacity matches your home, it should be able to handle even the hottest summer days and provide the level of cooling you want.

But what if it doesn’t? An air conditioner can completely fail, but it may also start to lose cooling capacity and not provide the cooling you expect from it. If you find that you’re lowering the AC temperature more and more to get comfortable, something isn’t right, and you may need professional AC repair in White Bluff, TN. Below we’ll look at the most common reasons for an AC that can’t keep up.

This is a simple, common problem. The air filter on the HVAC cabinet must receive regular changes (every one to three months) or it will become clogged with dust, lint, and other debris. This will block airflow into the AC and severely limit the system’s effectiveness. Fortunately, you can solve this easily: put in a clean filter. Set reminders for yourself to change the filter regularly in the future.

The air conditioner may not have a problem—it may be a wonky thermostat that is causing the trouble. If the thermostat starts to register that the house is cooler than it is, it will shut the AC off before it reaches your target temperature. This kind of miscalibration can often occur with older thermostats. We recommend you have the thermostat professionally recalibrated (or replaced in some cases) rather than try to get around the problem by pushing the thermostat down lower. 

This is a major problem. Losing refrigerant not only weakens an air conditioner’s ability to cool, it alters the pressure throughout the system and puts the compressor in jeopardy of burning out. You must have professionals locate and seal the leaks, then replace the lost refrigerant to return the AC to its factory levels. 

The outdoor coil of the AC is the condenser coil, where the AC releases the heat moved from indoors. This coil can become dirty because of exposure to the outside, and this will trap heat in the AC and make it less effective. The coil may also become blocked because of trees, branches, leaves, etc., which will have the same effect. 

The compressor is the heart of the AC. It puts refrigerant under pressure so it circulates to carry out heat exchange. If the compressor is malfunctioning, it will affect cooling. You’ll need professionals to fix the problem fast, because a burnt-out compressor often means the whole AC must be replaced.

Have you had your AC for 15 years or longer? If so, loss of cooling power means the air conditioner has worn down to the point it can no longer handle its job. We don’t recommend trying to fix it with repairs, which will become too expensive to make it worthwhile. Arrange to have a new AC installed. 

Call David Brown Heating & Cooling, LLC—“A Name You Can Trust!” We can fix your AC or help decide on whether to replace it.

Top Reasons Your AC Is Struggling to Keep Up With the Summer Heat

David Brown Heating & Cooling, LLC