What Causes an Air Conditioner to Freeze Up?

Is your AC unit frozen? Nothing good comes from an AC freeze up. It is expensive to fix and has the potential of causing more damage to the unit. Also, a freeze-up means that you will, for some time at least, pay for energy bills while your AC unit isn’t working how it should. Such a problem needs to be fixed fast. What then causes an AC freeze up in Sacramento? Our Sacramento heating and air specialists share the top reasons that could cause this issue in your home. 

Poor Airflow

Warm air from your house blows over your AC’s coils. The air keeps the coils from freezing while also cooling the air inside your home. If this fails, the coils will start to freeze over due to the super cold refrigerant inside them. Poor airflow can be caused by a number of reasons. They include: 

A Collapsed Duct 

The air inside your house is directed to the coils through a series of ducts. Any obstruction inside these ducts will prevent the warm air from reaching your coils. This will lead to an ac freeze up in Sacramento.

Bad Blower Motor

The blower motor blows air towards the coils. It also provides additional pressure to the air, which maintains a consistent rush of warm air whenever the AC unit is running. If the blower motor stops running, then air stops flowing and freezing starts. 

Low voltage to the Fan 

Sometimes, the problem will not be the AC unit but your electricity. Our HVAC techs explains that if the blower or fan will not run effectively if they are not receiving enough power. This will lead to an ac freeze up. 

A Clogged Air Filter 

The air filter is situated between the outdoor unit and the interior of your house. It traps impurities and allows clean air to enter your home. It also keeps the compressor coils clean. A dirty air filter prevents consistent airflow over the coils. This is why the air filter needs to be changed every 30-90 days. Contact Gilmore today for a Sacramento AC tune-up.

Blocked Coils 

An ineffective air filter leads to dust accumulation on the coils. The dust settles on the dump coils and cakes from the combination of dump surface and the dust. This creates an insulator effect, which prevents the warm air from reaching the coils and increases the cold temperatures inside the coils. 

Insufficient Refrigerant 

The refrigerant is responsible for transferring heat from the indoor unit to the outdoor unit where it is then dispersed. Its movement is aided by the compressor (outdoor unit), which compresses the gas turns it into a liquid. 

The liquid is then pushed through the circuit and into the house where it meets the warm air and turns into a gas as it absorbs heat energy. 

Low refrigerant means that the refrigerant will not absorb enough warm air to turn it into a gas. This ultimately leads to the freezing of the condensate on the coils, which will then form ice cubes and make its way to the outdoor unit.