Why Does Your Air Conditioner Freeze in Summer?

July 20, 2017

The summer can get very hot in Savage, so how in the world is your home’s air conditioner freezing over? It seems to make no sense. You may not even realize it’s taking place. How will you notice if your air conditioner is frozen? It may seem like a silly question, but you usually won’t actually see the ice except in extreme cases. Here are symptoms to monitor for that indicate you could be working with a frozen AC system that could require air conditioning service:

  • Warm air is coming out of your registers while the air conditioner is running.
  • Water is leaking from or collecting under your air conditioner.

When we say your air conditioner is frozen, what’s actually frozen is the evaporator coil, which transfers heat out of your home to sustain the cool temps. There are two main causes that an evaporator coil may freeze; one is a refrigerant leak and the other reason is a blockage of airflow.

If your air conditioner has a refrigerant leak, you will want to speak with your Gopher Heating and Air Conditioning technician during your air conditioning service appointment to see if you will benefit more from repairing or replacing your air conditioner. We can help you evaluate the pros and cons using background such as the age of your air conditioner and its service history, as well as other things.

If your air conditioner has frozen because of an airflow blockage, it’s because there is not enough air passing over the evaporator coil to dry the condensation that develops on it—then it freezes. Air flow blockages are commonly caused by dirty air filters or even dirty cooling fins. These problems can be remedied (and avoided!) by a routine air conditioner service appointment. At these service sessions, your technician will clean your system, replace your air filters and confirm everything is working as it should with no potential challenges on the horizon. It’s also a good idea to mark your calendar or set a reminder on your phone to check your air filters regularly and change the filters when they are dirty. Always be sure that furniture, curtains and other household items aren’t blocking your registers, as even this could cause a significant airflow problem and the following freezing problems.

If your air conditioner freezes, turn it off using your thermostat and call the experts at Gopher Heating and Air Conditioning to schedule an air conditioning service appointment. We’ll help you identify the issue and have your home back to cool and comfortable in no time. Call us at 952-373-0377 to schedule an appointment with us.