There’s not much that’s more obnoxious in Texas in July than an air conditioner that only blows warm air! It may seem like the whole AC system has failed. Will you have to get a new one? If this one can be saved, will it be a major repair? Don’t get too worried just yet! Sometimes when an AC unit blows warm air, the problem is quite small and easy to fix. Here’s what you should know.
Things to Check Yourself
Before making an appointment for air conditioning repair in New Braunfels, TX, you can do a few things to rule out simple issues you can fix yourself.
- Look at Your Thermostat: It’s all too easy to bump into your thermostat and accidentally switch it from cooling to heating! But it’s equally easy to check to make sure this isn’t your problem.
- Make Sure the Condenser Has Power: If the indoor unit’s fan is blowing, it has power. But take a second to double-check that the outdoor unit does, too—that no circuit breakers have tripped, and that the shut-off switch (usually in a box on the wall close to the outdoor unit) hasn’t been flipped.
- Clean Your Air Filter: One thing that can cause an AC to blow warm air is a clogged air filter that doesn’t allow enough air into the system to be cooled. You should be cleaning that every month during this season of heaviest AC use.
- Clean Your Condenser: The outdoor unit is where the heat dissipates from the refrigerant in the condenser coils. If the heat isn’t able to be released, the refrigerant will cycle back into the house while it’s still warm. If the condenser coils are insulated by dirt, leaf litter, or closely crowding shrubbery, trim plants, rake debris, and use a garden hose without a high-pressure nozzle to wash the outdoor unit gently.
Time for a Professional AC Technician
If you’ve done all those things and your air conditioner is still blowing warm air, it’s time to call in the pros. Although there may be a serious issue with your compressor, there are also other things that could cause warm air that are much less expensive to repair. For example, in the condenser unit, there is a fan that blows air over the coils to help the heat dissipate. If the fan, or the motor that powers it, has failed, the refrigerant won’t cool down. There could be a refrigerant leak, meaning that there is no longer enough coolant in the system to absorb heat. Your technician can locate and patch the leak and refill the system. But it might be something even simpler than any of that.
Your Air Conditioner’s Temperature Sensor
Your air conditioner has a temperature sensor. It keeps track of how warm your home is getting so that your thermostat will know when to trigger the air conditioner to come on. A faulty sensor can cause the wrong information, or no information at all, to be sent. And it may not even be the sensor that’s broken. Air conditioners vibrate a lot, so it may be just the wiring connecting the sensor that has been shaken loose.
When you have any sort of air conditioner issue, prompt attention can prevent a problem from worsening.
Our professionals are ready to take care of you when you reach out. Contact Cowboys Air Conditioning & Heating today to schedule an appointment with our professionals.
