If you see ice appearing on your air conditioner in Brookville, IN, you’re right to be suspicious. Since outdoor temperatures alone can’t explain such an event, it’s a reliable indicator that something is wrong with your system. Here are three reasons why ice might suddenly form on your AC.
1. Refrigerant Leak
Refrigerant gives your AC the power to remove heat from the air in one area and deposit it into the air in another place, thus producing cool air. If the substance leaks out, however, the amount of heat transfer will fall, decreasing the temperature inside your AC. This will be the ideal environment in which condensation can freeze.
2. Dirty Evaporator Coils
When warm air moves over your AC’s evaporator coils, the refrigerant sitting in the coils will absorb the heat from that air and evaporate. If too much debris coats the coils, however, too little of the coils’ surface area will be able to contact the air, and absorption will be insufficient. Consequently, the temperature near the coils will drop, and condensation on the evaporator coil may harden into ice.
To eliminate the ice and return functioning to normal, you’ll need an HVAC maintenance technician to clean the coils. We recommend scheduling a tune-up at least once a year.
3. Broken Blower Motor or Fan
The blower motor is the part of the cooling system that powers the fan and causes it to push air around. If this part malfunctions, air circulation through your system will suffer.
This means that warm air won’t be able to pass over your system’s evaporator coils, so condensation located anywhere near those coils may freeze. The same thing may happen if the fan itself or any of its blades break.
If ice materializes on your AC in Brookville, IN, don’t freeze in shock. Call Western Hills Heating & Air Conditioning to request AC repair services.
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