Summer is here and with it comes the intense heat of the Texas sun.  If you have gone any amount of time without an air conditioner during a summer in McKinney or surrounding communities, then you know it is something you don’t want to repeat. Don’t leave your summer comfort to chance! Here are seven of the most common causes of air conditioner problems in McKinney and what you can do to make sure they don’t happen at your house.

7 Causes of Air Conditioner Problems in McKinney

1. LOW REFRIGERANT/FREON. The refrigerant is the stuff that your air conditioner uses to remove the heat and humidity from the air in your home or business. If your system develops leaks in the cooling lines, you can end up with not enough refrigerant to effectively cool the air. Unfortunately, fixing this air conditioner problem correctly is not just a matter of replacing the refrigerant. A Joplin’s HVAC repair technician needs to first find out what is causing the leak so that it can be repaired.
2. FROZEN EVAPORATOR COILS. Your air conditioner’s evaporator coil is filled with refrigerant and is responsible for absorbing the heat from the air. If your Air Flow is low due to a dirty filter or a dirty coil, then the coil will become too cold and begin to frost. This will make the problem worse and the coil will end up looking like a ball of ice. You will need to have a Joplin’s technician look at your system and determine the reason your coil is frozen and provide recommendations on how to fix it.
3. DIRTY CONDENSER COILS. Your unit’s condenser coil is the part of the outdoor unit that removes the heat from the refrigerant. The condenser coil doesn’t work well when it gets covered with a layer of dirt and grime. When it happens, the removal of the heat is impeded, and your AC unit must work harder to do its job. Ultimately, this starts to wear down the parts of your system and can eventually cause the system to fail.
4. FAN PROBLEMS. There is a fan that blows the indoor air across your unit’s evaporator coil to cool the air, and another that blows air over the outdoor unit’s condenser to expel the absorbed heat outside the building. If either of those fans isn’t working properly– due to a faulty motor, lack of lubrication, worn belts or too much dirt and debris– you end up with poor airflow and air conditioner problems. If you neglect the problem, it can lead to compressor failure.
5. LEAKING DUCTS. The duct work that runs through your walls and ceilings of your home carries the cooled air from the air conditioner throughout your space. However, if there are holes, punctures or breaks in the ducts (which can be caused by rodents or accidents), that expensive cooled air winds up inside your walls where it’s not doing anybody any good. This of course will run up your electric bill.
6. THERMOSTAT PROBLEMS. Have you updated the thermostat in your house to one of the SMART thermostats available on the market today? If not and you continue to use one of the old dial-type thermostats, they could be incorrectly calibrated, which can make your air conditioner run more than it should. This problem is easy to fix by replacing or re-calibrating your thermostats.
7. CLOGGED DRAINS. All the moisture that your air conditioner removes from the air must go somewhere. It’s supposed to be removed from the air and land in a pan and finally go down a drain. If the drain gets clogged or the pan gets full, the water can back up and damage your system. You can also wind up with water leaks that damage your walls, ceilings, and furnishings. Watch for a dripping secondary drain outside your home this can be a sign that you have a clogged drain.

So, when you have AC problems in McKinney, how do you fix them?

• • REPLACE DIRTY AIR FILTERS. Air flow problems that lead to coils freezing are often caused by clogged air filters. Replace your air filters once a month (or more often if they are very dirty)
  • INSPECT DUCTS AND REPAIR ANY HOLES. If it seems like there’s not enough air coming from the registers, or your energy bills keep going up, have a Joplin’s HVAC expert look at the condition of your ducts.
  • INSTALL A PROGRAMMABLE THERMOSTAT. Eliminate issues with older control systems by installing new thermostats, which are more precise and save energy. We can help you decide on which SMART thermostat is best for your AC system. You can even get thermostats that can be controlled remotely using your smartphone or tablet.
  • CLEAR BRUSH AND DEBRIS FROM AROUND THE OUTDOOR UNIT. When the condenser and outdoor fan unit get clogged with leaves, trash and dirt, the unit can’t expel heat as effectively.
  • DON’T NEGLECT REGULAR MAINTENANCE. Virtually all the most common causes of air conditioner problems in McKinney can be easily prevented with regular maintenance program provided by Joplin’s Air Conditioning and Heating. One of our HVAC experts will come and inspect and tune up your system each spring and again in the fall when it is time to convert over to heating. This program is relatively inexpensive and could save you from having to make that emergency call when the AC stops working on the hottest day of the year.