Your air conditioning unit is one of the most important devices in your home, at least when it comes to keeping your family comfortable. Unfortunately, the air conditioner is also a device that can develop some fairly common problems. Though there are definitely unique issues that require a great deal of investigation to figure out, most homeowners will be more likely to run into the five common problems discussed below.

The Unit Won’t Turn On

Few things cause as much panic as an air conditioner that won’t turn on. As temperature rise, it can be particularly worrisome to see that you aren’t getting any kind of response from your AC unit at all. The good news, though, is that the most common issues here don’t actually lie in the air conditioner yourself.

The most common cause of this problem is that your thermostat isn’t working. Often times a quick change of batteries or pressing down the right buttons can solve the problem. If this isn’t the case, a tripped circuit breaker might be the culprit. If the basic fixes don’t work, though, you may be looking at the kind of serious problem that only a licensed professional will be able to fix.

Blowing Warm Air

One of the most common, and most immediately frightening, problems most homeowners experience is when their air conditioners start to blow warm air. No matter how low they set the thermostat, the temperature in their home continues to rise and the air that’s blowing from the vents becomes hotter and hotter. Fortunately, the actual cause of this problem tends to be less serious than one might assume.

If your air conditioner is blowing warm air, the most common culprit is probably your filters. If your filters are full of dirt and particulate matter, they’ll interfere with the efficiency of your air conditioner. This, in turn, can cause your air conditioner’s evaporator to freeze up and greatly decrease the efficacy of the unit. The best way to avoid this problem is to switch out your filter regularly.

Water Leaks

All air conditioners experience some degree of leakage. It’s perfectly normal for your air conditioner to start leaking a little bit while it is working or when the evaporating coil starts to melt off ice, but there are other situations in which a leaky air conditioner could be the sign of a bigger problem.

Unusual leaks are often a sign that a drainage pipe is blocked or that your filters are getting too dirty to work. Leakage may also be a sign that you are getting low on coolant or that your air conditioner was improperly installed. This is one problem that’s more of a warning sign than anything else, as it will generally be soon followed by other, more serious problems.

The best way to tell if you’re looking at a real problem with leakage is to be familiar with how your air conditioner usually works. Look at the outdoor part of the unit as it operates to see what kind of water production is normal. It’s only by knowing what the unit should look like when it is operating that you can tell when something has gone wrong.

Strange Noises

Your air conditioner is capable of making a truly astonishing number of noises. While there are certainly very normal noises with which most homeowners will have to come to ignore, there are also noises that can be harbingers of much bigger problems. The type of noise that your air conditioner makes can give you a clue as to what might be going on.

Different types of potential noises include, but are not limited to:

  • Hissing
  • Clicking
  • Thumping
  • Screeching
  • Buzzing

While some of these sounds might be similar to what you hear when your AC unit is functioning normally, they can also have very specific meanings. Hissing, for example, is a sure sign of a refrigerant leak while buzzing might be a sign that their are electrical components that are dying in the unit. Keeping track of changing sounds is a good way to ensure that you know what’s going on in your air conditioner and an even better way to track down potential problems before they get worse.

As a note, it’s entirely possible for your air conditioner to develop a host of new noises as time goes on. You should always keep track of any changes in noise when you notice other problems, as these changes can be a clue that may be used to figure out the problem with your air conditioner.

Sensor Issues

Your air conditioner is a much more sophisticated device than you might imagine. It keeps your rooms cool not just by blowing in cold air, but by monitoring the temperature in your home to make sure that it consistently maintains that temperature. Unfortunately, sensor problems can keep your air conditioner working overtime or, even worse, stop it from cooling down your room at all.

Sensor problems can generally be traced to the unit’s thermostat. If it has been knocked out of place or otherwise damaged, it won’t give the air conditioner the data that it needs to work correctly. If you find yourself dealing with such a problem, you’ll have to figure out whether your thermostat needs to be moved back into place or whether it will need to be replaced with a air conditioning unit.

These problems range from the simple to the devilishly complex, but they’re all common in air conditioner units of all makes and models. It’s a good idea to learn to identify the root causes of each of these issues so that you can prevent them from occurring or at least from getting worse. The great news about most of these problems is that while might not be easy for the average person to fix, they are generally quite easy for professionals to diagnose and solve.

When All Else Fails

When all else fails, and you are still at a loss for what is wrong, your next best bet is to obviously reach out to a Las Vegas air conditioning company to solve what’s wrong with your cooling system. At this point, it’s always correct to call in the experts!