Living in comfort in the summer can be taken for granted, particularly until you feel a taste of anxiety with an air conditioner breakdown. It can occur at the worst moments; you’re eating lunch and suddenly realize how warm your kitchen feels or you can’t fall asleep at night because you are so toasty enfolded in your covers. Think you’re feeling this uncomfortable feeling? It might be time for an air conditioner replacement.
Often times, it isn’t the thermostat’s mistake; the settings can be working properly, but it still reads that the temperature is above 80 degrees. It’s often times caused by an ancient or faulty air conditioner that demands a call to the professionals to find out what’s wrong. There are many causes for why air conditioners break down, especially bearing in mind the weather in Bishop. Here are a couple of things that you can look for before you call Bishop Heating & Air Conditioning if you think your air conditioner has broken down:
- Broken outdoor fan motor: There is a fan motor on your external air conditioning system that helps transport the heat from your home to the outdoors. If you inspect your system and discover that the fan isn’t running, it means that the heat movement isn’t happening, causing the warm air to remain in your home. This malfunction can also cause overheating of the compressor and other likely internal harm to your system.
- Dirty filters: It’s one of the most likely problems that Bishop Heating & Air Conditioning sees. These dirty filters in your air conditioner reduce proper airflow, affecting the air quality in your home, which is really difficult when allergy season comes around. Unclean air filters can also lower the efficiency in your home and raise your monthly energy costs.
- Blocked air flow: Always look for an obstruction or obstruction in your return-air or supply-air grille. This can cause your air conditioner to lose efficiency and slow down.
TIP: Make sure the grilles aren’t concealed by furniture or other home items, too. - Outside obstructions: Correct air flow could be also slowed down from outdoor barriers close to your system, such as shrubbery, trees, lawn chairs, etc. When the air flow is deterred, it can affect it’s cooling capacities. Make sure that your system is unrestricted by obstacles and is cleaned routinely to reduce the chance of air conditioner replacement.
Once you’ve worked through these four system checks and your air conditioner still isn’t running, here are a list of questions and additional checks that you should inspect and answer to get your system up and functioning again. (Only go to the next question if the system doesn’t switch on after doing the step before it):
- Is your thermostat temperature programmed below the indoor temperature?
- Is your system switch in the COOL setting?
- Is the outdoor unit power supply switch ON?
- Is the furnace/air handler power supply ON?
- Is your house fuse box/breaker box intact or has it blown a fuse or tripped a circuit breaker?
- If none of these things fix your system function, call Bishop Heating & Air Conditioning at 760-784-9034.
Don’t let an air conditioner malfunction or replacement keep you restless at night. If you follow these tips and keep your system under annual maintenance, you should have you air conditioner operating again in no time. Our team at Bishop Heating & Air Conditioning in Bishop is always here to assist – give us a call at 760-784-9034.