Living in comfort in the summer can be taken for granted, mainly until you feel a taste of uneasiness with an air conditioner malfunction. It can hit at the worst moments; you’re eating lunch and unexpectedly realize how warm your kitchen feels or you can’t fall asleep at night because you are so toasty wrapped in your covers. Think you’re feeling this uneasiness? It might be time for an air conditioner replacement.
Usually, it isn’t the thermostat’s mistake; the settings can be operating correctly, but it still says that the temperature is over 80 degrees. It’s most often caused by an outdated or faulty air conditioner that demands a call to the pros to find out what’s wrong. There are many explanations why air conditioners stop working, especially bearing in mind the weather in Portland. Here are a couple of things that you can look for before you call Three Rivers Heating & Cooling if you think your air conditioner has broken down:
- Broken outdoor fan motor: There is a fan motor on your outdoor air conditioning system that helps flow the heat from your home to the outdoors. If you examine your system and see that the fan isn’t running, it means that the heat relocation isn’t happening, causing the warm air to remain in your home. This problem can also trigger overheating of the compressor and other possible internal harm to your system.
- Dirty filters: It’s one of the most common issues that Three Rivers Heating & Cooling sees. These unclean filters in your air conditioner reduce appropriate airflow, affecting the air quality in your home, which is really problematic when allergy season strikes. Dirty air filters can also decrease the efficiency in your home and raise your monthly energy costs.
- Blocked air flow: Always search for an barrier or jam in your return-air or supply-air grille. This can cause your air conditioner to waste efficiency and decelerate.
TIP: Make sure the grilles aren’t hidden by furniture or other home items, as well. - Outside obstructions: Proper air flow could be also hindered from exterior obstructions near your system, such as shrubbery, trees, lawn chairs, etc. When the air flow is altered, it can influence it’s cooling capacities. Make sure that your system is uninhibited by obstacles and is cleaned frequently to decrease the possibility of air conditioner replacement.
Once you’ve gone through these four system checks and your air conditioner still isn’t operating, here are a list of questions and tests that you should look into and answer to get your system up and working again. (Only move on to the next question if the system doesn’t switch on after doing the step before it):
- Is your thermostat temperature set below the indoor temperature?
- Is your system switch in the COOL position?
- Is the outdoor unit power supply switch ON?
- Is the furnace/air handler power supply ON?
- Is your house fuse box/breaker box ok or has it blown a fuse or tripped a circuit breaker?
- If none of these things alter your system function, call Three Rivers Heating & Cooling at 503-213-4433.
Don’t let an air conditioner malfunction or replacement keep you up at night. If you follow these procedures and keep your system under regular maintenance, you should have you air conditioner operating again in no time. Our team at Three Rivers Heating & Cooling in Portland is always here to help – give us a call at 503-213-4433.