When you turn on the AC in your Belleville, ON home, you expect it to provide cold, refreshing air. So, it can be a bit disturbing when it produces warm air instead. Unfortunately, there are myriad reasons why this might happen. Some of them are easy to fix. Others result from maintenance issues. Still more happen when components in your AC malfunction. To explain, here are six common reasons why your AC might blow warm air and what to do about them.
1. A Dirty Air Filter
Although you might not know it, something as simple as a dirty air filter can cause your AC to begin blowing warm air. It happens because a dirty air filter restricts airflow over your AC’s evaporator coils. That’s where the system produces cold air to send throughout your home. Therefore, dirty air filters will both limit the airflow coming from your vents as well as limiting your system’s ability to produce cold air.
The good news is that fixing this problem isn’t hard. All you have to do is clean or replace your AC’s air filter. Doing so should improve airflow and help get your AC back to cooling as it should. However, you should know that running your AC for too long with a dirty air filter can stress its mechanical parts and lead to other troubles. So, if replacing your air filter doesn’t help, you likely have another related problem, too.
2. Dirty Evaporator Coils
Your AC’s air filter should do a decent job of keeping dust and dirt from circulating through your AC system and home. It’s not perfect, though. There’s always some amount of dust and dirt that will escape the filter. When that happens, the first place it’ll go is into the fins of your AC’s compressor coil. Over time, the coil will get dirty enough to prevent air from passing through it. This will severely limit your AC’s ability to produce cold air.
If your AC develops this problem, you shouldn’t try to remedy it yourself. The fins inside your evaporator coil are delicate, and bending them could render the evaporator inoperable. Instead, you should have an expert HVAC technician from Armour Home Comfort clean your evaporator coils for you. They have the tools, knowledge, and experience to do the job right and get you back to relaxing in your cool home right away.
3. A Blocked Condensate Line
If you’ve ever seen a window air conditioner in operation, you’ve probably noticed that it will drip water constantly outside as it works. Well, central air conditioning systems do this too but have a condensate line that carries the water outside of your home. The water is a byproduct of the cooling process that happens when the warm air inside your home comes into contact with the cold evaporator coil. That causes the humidity in the warm air to collect on the coil. If it stays there, the coil will freeze, and the AC will stop working. If your AC starts blowing warm air, it could be because the condensate line isn’t draining the water away, and the evaporator coil froze over.
If the clog is at the end of the drain that’s outside your home, you’re in luck! That means you should be able to clear the clog and restore your AC to good working order. If the clog is anywhere else along the line, though, you should leave it to the team at Armour Home Comfort to solve the problem. Our technicians know how to access the drain line to clear clogs without damaging the line or your AC system.
4. Low Refrigerant Levels
Your AC relies on a refrigerant—commonly R-410A—to produce the cold air your home requires. So, if your AC starts blowing warm air, it could be because it’s low on that refrigerant. Most of the time, this is an issue that older HVAC systems develop after years of continuous use. This is because, although your HVAC’s refrigerant travels through a closed system, it can develop tiny holes that allow some to escape. That also means, though, that if you have a newer HVAC suffering from this problem, it must have a hole somewhere in its refrigerant lines or fittings.
No matter the cause, though, the only solution is to call on Armour Home Comfort to recharge your HVAC’s refrigerant and locate and repair any holes in its refrigerant lines. This is not a job that you can do on your own because it requires specialized equipment and knowledge to perform. If you overcharge your HVAC system, it could suffer serious damage. If you undercharge it, though, it’ll never get back to producing cold air. It’s a delicate balance best left to an expert.
5. A Malfunctioning Compressor
Your AC’s refrigerant doesn’t produce cold air on its own. To do it, it passes through a compressor that turns it into a hot gas. That’s how your AC creates a temperature differential high enough to expel hot air outside in the middle of the summer. As the refrigerant gives off its heat, it turns into a cold liquid. That cold liquid then travels into your home and through the evaporator coils, creating the cold air you require. However, if your compressor malfunctions, none of that can happen. The refrigerant can’t turn into a gas and circulate through the system, leading to it blowing warm air.
This, again, is a problem you’ll have to leave to an expert. A malfunctioning compressor can be a result of an electrical issue or a mechanical breakdown. Only a trained HVAC technician will have the skills to figure out which is the case for your AC. Once they locate the problem, they’ll also have the tools and replacement parts necessary to fix it.
6. A Blocked Outdoor Unit
Even if your AC’s compressor works, it still needs the rest of the components of the system’s outdoor unit to do its job. Those components make it possible for your AC system to radiate the heat collected inside your home into the outdoors. Doing that requires a condenser, which is essentially a large radiator paired with a fan to circulate air through it. Needless to say, if anything blocks airflow through the condenser, your AC won’t function correctly and might blow warm air.
Fortunately, you can check your outdoor unit for obstructions and correct any you find. So, if you see a buildup of leaves, twigs, and other detritus, you should sweep it away. And if the condenser itself appears dirty, you can use a garden hose to rinse it out. In many cases, this will restore your AC to working condition.
Count On Belleville’s HVAC Pros
Now that you know many of the reasons that your AC might blow warm air, you should also know that many of them are preventable. By scheduling regular HVAC maintenance visits by the team here at Armour Home Comfort, you can extend your HVAC’s life and improve its performance. We offer complete HVAC services, including installation, maintenance, and repair. Plus, we handle fireplaces, too.
If your AC has started to blow warm air or you’d like to avoid that happening in the heat of summer, contact the experts at Armour Home Comfort right away!
