“Why won’t my air conditioner turn on?!?”
There are few things more frustrating on a hot St. Louis summer day than when you discover there’s something wrong with your air conditioning. An AC that isn’t working properly can feel like an emergency, especially on days when the temperature is approaching the triple digits!
Your first impulse if you don’t feel cool air coming out of the vents in your home might be to race to the phone to call SmartHouse for central AC repair. And while we’re happy to help with any air conditioner problems you might be experiencing, we also don’t want to charge you for a visit when there’s an easy fix you could do yourself. In a previous blog, we reviewed 5 Reasons Your AC Won’t Turn On. Today, we’re going to review a few of the DIY fixes available for simple AC issues.
Are you sure your AC has power? Check your breaker panel to see if the breaker your cooling system is connected to has tripped. If so, it could have been caused by a one-time power overload, and flipping the breaker back on could fix the issue. But if your breaker just trips again, it’s likely there’s something bigger going on and it could be time for an AC service call.
You’d be surprised how many calls we get about a broken AC where it turns out the AC unit is fine and it’s the thermostat that’s causing problems! Thermostats can prevent your air conditioning from turning on for a number of reasons, including:
It’s human nature to overlook some of the simplest solutions to a problem, so make sure you double-check the basics before giving us a ring—you could save yourself a service call!
Many newer AC units have a shut-off switch—they often look like regular light switches and are installed so HVAC technicians can quickly and easily turn off the power to your cooling system while troubleshooting problems. Make sure that switch didn’t accidentally get bumped and turned off, preventing your AC from turning on!
Air filters help reduce dust, dirt and other air pollutants from circulating in your HVAC system, as well as the rest of your home. As filters collect more and more particulate matter, they need to be changed, as they can block airflow back into the unit. This can cause the evaporator coils to freeze up and completely shut down your AC. If your air filter is dirty or hasn’t been changed recently, that’s a good place to start!
Air conditioners not only cool the air in your home, they dehumidify it as well, and your AC’s condensate line is where your unit sends that extra moisture. A clogged drain line or pan can trigger a float switch that automatically shuts your unit off to prevent flooding. If you’re feeling adventurous, a shop vac can be used to suck out whatever’s clogging the drain line, or you can just give SmartHouse a call and we’ll happily take care of that for you!
At SmartHouse Heating and Cooling, our NATE-certified technicians are here to help with your HVAC needs, and we hope we may have saved you a bit of money by finding a quick (and free!) solution to your air conditioning troubles.
But the reality is, there are many common problems with an AC that can’t be fixed by the average homeowner, like a broken blower motor or a refrigerant leak. When you call our team, you can trust that we’ll take the time to carefully listen to the issue you’re experiencing, and then treat your St. Louis, Brentwood, or Clayton home and its HVAC system as if it were our own.
