Your air conditioner does a good job of keeping your home cool and comfortable, but ice on your AC is not indicative of it working hard, it’s indicative of a problem. Scraping the ice off doesn’t fix the problem and you’ll just see it re-build a few hours after you’ve removed it. The best thing to do as soon as you see any kind of ice build-up on your air conditioner is to call your DB Heating & Cooling technician. This is because there is an underlying issue causing the ice build-up, and our trained and certified experts will find the problem and repair it.
Causes of Ice Build-Up
There are four main reasons your air conditioner will develop an issue with icing:
- Dirty air filter – a clogged and dirty air filter can seriously restrict the air flow in your system. This restriction inhibits the heat release and cooling process that is part of the cooling cycle. The result is that the warm parts of your system become too hot and the cool parts become too cold. This kind of difference in air temperature creates condensation, and then that condensation freezes into ice on the cold parts of the system.
- Problems with the fans – the fans in your AC system keep the air moving through the system. When one (or both) of the fans’ speed slows down or stops due to malfunction issues, the air flow is directly affected. Without the right air flow, the same problem as above develops with the cooling process.
- Outdoor temperature is below 60 degrees – most people aren’t running their ACs when the outdoor temperature is 60 degrees during the daytime, but it isn’t uncommon for the air temperature to lower at night. If this is the case around your home, simply turn off your AC before you go to bed and turn it back on during the warmer daytime hours.
- Refrigerant leak – the refrigerant in your AC system facilitates the transfer of heat. A specific amount of refrigerant is required for your air conditioner to work properly. A leak reduces the amount of refrigerant in your system, creating an imbalance that can lead to ice build-up.
The experts at DB Heating & Cooling are here to help you with all of your air conditioner repair needs in Westwood, NJ. Just give us a call and our helpful staff will schedule you an appointment.