When your air conditioning (AC) is not blowing cold air, the last thing you want to spend time on is researching whom you can call to fix it. By the time you are experiencing little to no airflow in your vents, your home’s temperature slowly keeps rising around you. You may not even notice the symptoms at first of a malfunctioning air conditioning.
You may begin to notice that you’re having difficulty staying comfortable in your home, or you begin to notice there is no cold air blowing through the vents. Airflow problems usually start showing themselves when the amount of air flowing over your evaporator coil slows down. When an air conditioner isn’t blowing cold air, you can consider eight common causes as the culprit.
Please keep reading if you want to learn more about the causes of Air Flow Problems and what tips you can do to resolve your AC issues.
AC Not Blowing Cold Air
Reputable AC companies understand when you are experiencing weak airflow from the vents in your home and know there are a couple of preliminary things you can do to check out your system. First, you will want to check your vents to determine if just one vent or all the vents are having airflow issues. Sometimes the problem can be as simple as a crushed duct flex.
Closed dampers can also cause the AC to quit blowing cold air. In other instances, your AC not blowing cold can result from blower issues, air duct problems, dirty air filters, or blocked floor grates. No matter what your AC problem is, the eight tips below will help you troubleshoot the issue.
1. Air Conditioning Not Blowing or Turning On and Off Repeatedly
If you can’t get consistent air conditioning temperatures in your home or have restricted airflow in your vents, you could have a dirty or blocked condenser unit. It can also indicate you have a dirty evaporator that just needs cleaning. When cleaning an AC unit, you also want to remove anything blocking or obstructing the unit.
2. Air Conditioning Not Cooling or Flowing Through Vents
The first thing you want to check is your air conditioning thermostat. If your thermostat is working, you want to see if you have any weeds or debris blocking your air conditioning unit. A faulty compressor or even an air conditioner not having enough refrigerant can cause an air conditioner to quit cooling.
The result will be airflow, slowing down, or stopping in vents throughout your home.
3. Your Air Conditioner Condenser Won’t Come On
Believe it or not, you want first to check that your power is turned on and the unit is plugged correctly. Check your circuit breakers and see if one of them has tripped your electrical system. If a circuit breaker has been tripped, you can restore your power and see if the condenser and air conditioner come back on and start flowing into the air vents cooling the air.
4. Air Conditioner Won’t Work in One Room of Your Home
Sometimes people try to save money on their electric bill by closing vents to the most infrequently visited rooms. 55% of all electricity is used for heating and cooling purposes. But when you notice that your air conditioner doesn’t seem to be working in one or more of your rooms, it’s time to test your closed vents in all the rooms.
This should allow airflow to naturally flow to the room vents where more airflow is needed. If that doesn’t seem to help the situation, you’ll want to call an air conditioning service company to come and assess your unit.
5. Air Conditioner Power Consumption Keeps Climbing
When you notice your air conditioner is not as efficient as it used to be or that your power consumption seems to keep going up, you need to see if you have an AC refrigerant leak. AC refrigerant leaks can damage your compressor, cause your coil to freeze, and the result is uneven cooling in your home or office vents.
6. Air Conditioner Starts Hissing
While you should hear your air conditioner click on or off, and you can sometimes even listen to it running through your home, you shouldn’t hear your AC hiss or rattle. When air conditioners start rattling, thumping, clicking, or hissing, you can have issues with a blower, motor, refrigerant leak, or a faulty electrical component. You won’t be seeing restored air flow in your vents until the AC is fixed.
7. Air Conditioner Unit Leaks Water
If you start noticing blocked drain pipes or find one of your condensate pans is broken, you may have an air conditioning unit with dirty air filters or low coolant levels. Any of those issues can cause low or no airflow in your vents.
8. Air Conditioner Sensors and Thermostats
Cold air will quit flowing into air ducts and vents if the thermostat sensor is malfunctioning. This malfunction can be from the thermostat measure the air temperature incorrectly. Testing the thermostat sensor and making sure it is placed near the evaporator coil but not touching it allows you to get the maximized airflow to your vents if it is working correctly.
Your Next Step In Determining Why Your AC Isn’t Blowing
No matter what, once you realize the AC is not blowing cold air and you have tried all the tips and suggestions listed above, it may be time to contact an air conditioner repair service. A certified AC contract technician or AC installer can help you with everything from floor grates, air vents, condensers, coils, or even replace your air conditioner. It’s vital that you ask questions, get sound answers, and find out the steps you need to take to get your cold air flowing once again throughout your house.
An excellent place to start is to pick up the phone and call a trusted AC service company near you. If you’re noticing inconsistency in your cool airflow throughout your home’s vents, you don’t want to wait until the heat of summer is stifling you to get it fixed.
