Why Is Your Air Conditioner Freezing Up?

As a homeowner, the last thing you need is your air conditioner to stop working properly in the middle of the summer when it's blazing hot outside. Unfortunately, this happens all too often for many residents here in Ohio.

Not all air conditioning issues are easy to pinpoint, but one obvious malfunction we encounter is ice buildup on the outside unit.

Ice buildup on your outdoor air conditioning unit is an indicator that there is something wrong with your air conditioning system. Ice buildup isn't something you see every day, but it is something that the Logan Services team can readily handle. We talked to our technicians and customer service experts to explain why ice buildup happens and how you can prevent it. 

Why Does Ice Build Up On The Outside Unit?

The refrigerant temperature in the outdoor coil is lower than the outdoor temperature, so any moisture in the air that touches the coil starts to freeze. Freezing on the outdoor unit is a normal condition, and that's why there is a defrost cycle to remove the frost.

What Can Cause Ice Buildup On An A/C Unit?

Multiple things can cause ice buildup on the outdoor unit. A dirty furnace filter will cause the cooling system to work harder than necessary, and with less airflow, this can cause the HVAC system to freeze up. Low refrigerant can also cause ice buildup along with a blower motor that is not running in the cooling system.

What Can Prevent An A/C From Freezing Up?

Our team always recommends changing your standard furnace filter once every 30 days or once every three months if you have the Perfect Air Plus (PAP) filter system. We also recommend having your HVAC system serviced once a year on the A/C  and again on the furnace. While this may not 100% prevent an A/C from freezing up, it can significantly help in reducing the chances of this happening.

What To Do For A Frozen A/C Before Our Team Comes Out?

If you find that your air conditioner is frozen, the first thing you will want to do is to shut the system off to start the thawing process. Then you will want to switch your thermostat from the heating/cooling setting to off. In most cases, you can also switch the fan mode on the thermostat from auto to on. Keeping the fan on will allow air to continue being pumped into the home to make it more comfortable for the customer during summer. This will also help to thaw out any ice/frost.

How Our Team Can Help?

After the system has been off for 24 hours and the ice has thawed from the outdoor unit, we will come out and start our diagnosis. Our service technicians will begin with the basics, like checking the furnace filter if the blower motor is running and check the refrigerant charge. Our service technicians can always take a closer look at the system if concerns are noted during the basic checks.

If you have a frozen A/C, follow the recommendations above and then call our friendly team. We will send out a service technician to help you get your air conditioner back up and running in Dayton, Columbus, and Cincinnati.