You rely on your air conditioner to keep your home in Boise, ID, cool during summer. If you notice that although your AC runs, it generates hot instead of cold air, it is a sure sign that something’s wrong with it. Find out more about why your air conditioner unit isn’t blowing cold air and what steps you can take to get it to blow cold air again.
Clogged or Dirty Air Filter
Your AC’s air filter helps trap pollutants, dirt, and dust from flowing freely around your home. After a while, the filter can become clogged or too dirty. This will hinder its performance and won’t effectively block pollutants or dust. As a result, your air conditioner will have a harder time pushing cold air through the filter. This strain on your cooling system could result in it still running but not emitting cold enough air.
Ideally, your air filter should be replaced every 90 days or so. If you have pets, try changing the filter every 30 to 60 days. This job is easy enough for homeowners. If you have a washable or reusable filter, clean it every so often by vacuuming it or rinsing it off.
Tripped Circuit Breaker
If the power at your home goes out for whatever reason, this can trip your circuit breakers, one of which powers the AC unit. An electrical issue like this could cause your cooling system to blow hot air instead of cold air since the compressor might have difficulty compressing the refrigerant.
The first thing to check is your electrical panel or circuit breaker box. If you see the breaker for the AC tripped, just flip the switch back on. If the AC breaker hasn’t tripped, your system has another issue. Have an experienced technician come out for further investigation.
Thermostat Issues
If the issue isn’t with the air conditioner, you might have problems with other parts of the HVAC system, such as the thermostat. A malfunctioning thermostat won’t be able to “talk” to your AC to tell it to circulate cool air around your home.
There are a couple of things with your thermostat you can quickly check for and rule out as the culprit for your AC’s hot-air issue. Ensure the thermostat settings are on “cool” and “auto.” These settings ensure your air conditioner runs only when you need to cool down your home. If the thermostat shows as set to “on,” the AC will run but won’t necessarily continue to push out cold air. Also, check the battery. If it’s been a while since you changed the thermostat’s battery, simply pop in a new one and see if that does the trick.
Another possible thermostat issue is bad wiring. For this, it is smart to hire an HVAC technician to inspect the thermostat and rewire it as needed. If you have an older type of thermostat, such as an analog one, it could be on the verge of breaking down, so look into getting a replacement, in this case, a programmable or smart model.
Ductwork Clogs or Leaks
Your ducts control the spread of air throughout each room of your home. A clog in the ductwork could prevent cold air from reaching one or several of your rooms. If there’s a leak anywhere within your duct system, you might still feel the air, but it will be warmer since the cooler air may have escaped or leaked out somewhere along the line.
A company like ours will send technicians to inspect your ducts for clogs or leaks. We can clean out your ductwork or install a new duct system if that’s what’s needed at your home in Boise.
Improperly Sized AC
If you moved into a house with an existing HVAC system, the problem with your AC blowing warm air could be that it’s just not big enough to cool down your entire home. Oversized or undersized air conditioners might be the source of your AC problem, especially if you’ve noticed the same issue each summer. Still, no other apparent signs of problems with the air conditioner exist. In this case, research having a new AC installed that’s the appropriate size for your home.
Broken Compressor
As mentioned earlier, the compressor is the part of your air conditioner that is responsible for compressing the refrigerant. If this vital function isn’t happening for some reason, this may be why you’re feeling hot air from the AC. Dirt can also affect how the compressor works. You can try to clean around the compressor in the outdoor unit yourself. If this doesn’t help, invest in an HVAC professional who will thoroughly check the unit and compressor to figure out what’s what.
Blocked Vents
You can check for blocked vents yourself. Make sure nothing, like large furniture items, is sitting right in front of the vents and hindering the flow of cool air from the ducts. If nothing is in front of your vents, they may just need cleaning.
Low Refrigerant or Refrigerant Leaks
Your air conditioner relies on refrigerant to help cool the air blown throughout your home. A low refrigerant level means your AC can’t cool your home as well as it should. A replenishment of the refrigerant by a trained professional could resolve this problem.
Leaking refrigerant is much more serious. In this case, it’s imperative to contact an HVAC company to have a technician skilled in handling refrigerant problems take on the issue. Never attempt any DIY work on refrigerants. Work on refrigerants requires EPA certification.
Frozen Evaporator or Condenser Coils
These coils help remove warm air from your home and replace it with cool, conditioned air. If either coil freezes up due to a refrigerant issue or a clog, this crucial process will be affected, and you’ll start feeling hot air instead of cold. Get an HVAC technician to come over and inspect the coils to determine the problem.
When Your AC Doesn’t Blow Cold Air Call Perfect, Plumbing Heating & Air
At Perfect, Plumbing Heating & Air, we proudly serve Boise and the Treasure Valley region. We’ve been around since 1984 and have a proven community service record. We’ve also received recognition for our services. For three years in a row, from 2015 through 2017, our business was recognized as the best place to work in the state, and we were also named among the Bryant Circle of Champions.
The BBB gave us the Torch Award for Ethics. 2015, we received the Chamber of Commerce’s Chamber of Excellence Award. In addition to air conditioning repair, maintenance, and replacement services, we provide the same for heating systems. Call us for drain cleaning, pipe repairs, and air filtration systems.
To schedule an HVAC service appointment at your Boise home, call us at Perfect, Plumbing Heating & Air today.
