Since air conditioners are made to cool air, it seems odd that they can actually freeze. Unfortunately, as too many Virginia residents can tell you, a frozen air conditioner is a real problem during hot weather.
To understand how to deal with a frozen air conditioner, it helps to know what causes them to freeze in the first place. Air Flow Blockage The most common reason for an A/C to freeze is air flow blockage. When an A/C is cooling a home, air flows through the evaporator coils. Under normal conditions, the air is moving fast enough to keep condensation from freezing up on the cold air conditioner components. However, if the air flow is slowed down or stopped due to a blockage, the condensation freezes. Dirty air filters are the most common culprit when you have air flow blockage that causes a frozen air conditioner. The good news is, the "fix" is usually as simple as these three steps:
If these three steps don't solve your problem, or if your system keeps freezing in spite of having a clean filter, you may have blockages in other places, or you may have a more serious problem — a refrigerant leak. Refrigerant Leakage The second most common reason for an A/C to freeze is a refrigerant leak. There's not much a homeowner can do for a refrigerant leak. This situation requires a service call so that the HVAC technician can locate the leak. While some leaks can be fixed, if you have an older system, you may be looking at replacing it sooner rather than later. Your service technician can give you an idea about how serious the leak is and what your options are. Dealing with a frozen air conditioner? For this or other HVAC concerns in the Hampton Roads area, contact Russell's Heating & Cooling. Our goal is to help educate our customers in Chesapeake, Virginia and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about a freezing A/C and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Guide or call us at 757-750-1831. Credit/Copyright Attribution: “GSPhotography/Shutterstock”