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With the first warmth of summer, a new operating season for air conditioning starts. But often it happens: The air conditioner starts up and works, but there is no cold? Why doesn’t the air conditioner cool down? Let’s find out the main reasons: from wrong settings, which can be solved with a couple of button presses on the remote control, to compressor or control board failure, which can lead to expensive and sometimes long-lasting repair.
Make sure that the air conditioning unit really is not cooling.
Before searching for a faulty air conditioner, make sure that outside factors are not affecting the operation of the equipment:
- Running time. The air conditioner does not create coolness instantly. It takes 10 to 30 minutes. The cooling time varies with the capacity of the equipment, the size of the room, the difference in temperature: the outside temperature and the temperature you set on the air conditioner.
- Power of equipment. Poor air conditioner will cool a “hot” premise for a long time. Especially if the premise heats under direct sun rays all day long or has a big glazing.
- Room insulation. Pay attention to additional heat inputs – frequent opening of doors, windows, ventilation. Try to use curtains and blinds at window openings.
If conditioner is chosen correctly, there are no additional heat inflows, additional equipment was not installed – it is time to make a diagnostics by measuring temperature of incoming and outgoing air from a conditioner.
If conditioner is in good order then temperature difference on “inlet-outlet” is 7-15 degrees. If temperature difference is less than this value, it means that your split-system is really bad cooler.
In the SAN Francisco Bay Area, HVAC All Seasons will service & repair air conditioner in your home or office.
The air conditioner is not cooling. Causes:
The reasons why the air conditioner does not supply cold air to the room can be divided into 3 main groups:
- Air conditioner settings – the settings and parameters are often set incorrectly.
- Lack of maintenance – everything is working properly but there is not enough freon in the system or filters and heat exchangers need cleaning.
- Faulty element – a component in the air conditioning unit has failed.
Check settings and parameters.
1. Wrong mode set.
Pay attention to the mode in which the air conditioner is switched on.
MODE button on the remote controller and icons on the remote controller screen are responsible for this:
- HEAT – heating mode;
- DRY – dehumidification mode;
- FUN – ventilation mode;
- COLD – cooling mode;
- AUTO – automatic mode.
If the air conditioner is switched on in heating/ventilation/drying mode, it will not naturally cool down. One should be careful with AUTO mode – the conditioner starts up according to presets specified by the manufacturer. Usually, conditions are as follows – temperature in a premise is higher than 24°C – air conditioner is working in cooling, at temperature lower than 18°C – air conditioner is working in heating. The required mode is COLD – cooling mode, which will give you long-awaited coolness.
2. The temperature in the room is equal to the temperature you set.
Often the user tries to start the air conditioner with the temperature already reached in the room. For example: you have 22C in the room, you have 23C on your remote control – air conditioner will not start for cooling because the sensor “understands” that the temperature is lower than the set temperature, so cooling is not required.
3. Temperature sensor in the remote control, or “I FEEL” function.
The function is not found in all models, but it is quite popular. When this function is switched on, the conditioner reacts to the indications of temperature sensor, located on the remote control. For example, you have put it in a cooler corner of the room – the conditioner takes readings – the temperature is reached, though the temperature in the room can be higher than the set value. This function is not automatic, it is forced on and off, and the corresponding indicator on the remote control lights up. Be careful with this option.
Lack of maintenance.
You may have noticed that after 3 to 5 years, the air conditioner no longer cools “as it used to”. What is the reason for the loss of performance? Let’s look into it.
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Filters in the indoor unit are clogged.
Pet hair, hairs, dust, etc. easily clog coarse and fine filters of air conditioner. This causes the radiator to give off poor cooling to the air, resulting in poor cooling. If the filters are heavily soiled, the evaporator pipes can freeze.Contamination can enter the drain hose, preventing the condensate from draining naturally to the outside. An overfilled drip tray can cause water to run down the wall, dripping onto the floor, furniture, etc.
The solution is simple: clean the filters of the indoor unit regularly. They are easy to remove, you just have to unclip and lift the front panel of the indoor unit. It should preferably be cleaned under cold water, without using aggressive detergents.
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The heat exchanger (radiator) of the outdoor unit is dirty.
The air conditioner drives huge volumes of air through the heat exchanger during operation, usually not the cleanest. Copper heat exchangers have rather small fins, which can easily get clogged with poplars, dust, etc. If the heat exchanger gets dirty, the performance of the air conditioner decreases as the heat extraction efficiency decreases.
This can be remedied by washing the heat exchanger, preferably under pressure. A high-pressure washer, such as the Karcher pressure washer, will help. In high-rise buildings, it may be necessary to use the services of a truck-mounted tower
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Freon leak.
The freon line circulates a quite volatile refrigerant, Freon, which only needs a microcrack to escape from the refrigeration circuit. Normally, refrigerant leakage is 6-8% per year, even if the system is hermetically sealed. It is important to distinguish between a normalised leakage or a breach in the integrity of the copper line. This will be indicated by the temperature at the heat exchanger fin or the system pressure. If the difference from the normative values is insignificant, topping up is sufficient. If there is no freon at all in the system, after 2-3 years of operation it is necessary to detect a place of a leak. In 90 % of cases it will be low-quality sealing and wrong tightening of nuts, in other 10 % it will be mechanical damage of freon pipeline during exploitation. It is necessary to search infringement of integrity, soldering or replacement of a main completely, kinking, vacuumization and complete new refilling of a conditioner.
To avoid occurrence of above mentioned situations it is recommended to do service 2 times a year (in spring and autumn). At most once a year, before the start of the “warm” season.
Have you found that the air conditioner switches on, but does not cool the air in the room well or does not cool the air at all? Have you tried to fix the problem, but the situation has not changed? Ask us for professional help!
Call to the company HVAC All Seasons in the San Francisco Bay Area
+1 (510)342 80 96