Last Updated on April 23, 2024
Your home’s HVAC system is crucial to ensuring your comfort. Although the primary function of this system is to heat and cool your home, it can also keep pests at bay and limit the possibility of mold growing in your home. Therefore, keeping the HVAC system in optimal condition is a priority for every homeowner.
The lifespan of many of these units is 15 years. You can check out this article to learn ways to extend the life of your HVAC. This means they can last for a long time before you need to replace them. However, certain problems can reduce this lifespan if not properly addressed.
To ensure you don’t have to replace your unit any time soon, we’ve written this article just for you. In this piece, we’ll share with you some common HVAC problems and how you can fix some of them. The ones you cannot fix yourself will require the services of an HVAC repair company.
Warm Air in Vents
When there is warm air in the vents of your heating and cooling system, it might be due to several reasons. Minor problems, such as the fan functioning on auto-setting or the unit turning on accidentally, might be responsible. Homes with older units might experience this problem if the thermostat is faulty.
When this happens, the system will be forced to blow warm air since the settings are not correct. To fix this, you need to get a smart thermostat. This nifty device will also help reduce your energy bills.
If you still encounter this issue after doing the above, then other problems might be responsible. Leaking refrigerant is one of them, and fixing it requires you to plug up the leak and refill the refrigerant. Dirty coils might be another reason. In such a case, cleaning the coils is the solution you seek.
Pollutants, dirt, and debris might be blocking the system. If you know your way around your system, you can try to remove this blockage yourself. If you can’t do it yourself, you need to hire the services of an HVAC repair company.
Poor Airflow
When the airflow from the vents is poor, it means the system is not functioning optimally. This problem can be caused by debris or dirt that is blocking the fans outside. To resolve the issue, you need to clean these fans.
Another reason for this issue might be dirty air filters. If dirt has cloaked the blower fan, it can also affect the system’s performance and lead to poor airflow. To resolve this issue, you need to clean the filter and the fan as required. If you can’t do it yourself, get a professional.
Refrigerant Leak or Low Refrigerant
Without the refrigerant, your HVAC won’t work. It is responsible for transferring heat from inside your home to the outside. This is why maintaining the refrigerant level is important.
Refrigerant leaks can be caused by wear and tear or malfunctioning equipment. Repair or installation errors, and corrosion. Fixing this issue is solely the job of professionals. You can check out R.A. Styron for more information on how this repair process is done. Therefore, do not try fixing a refrigerant leak or refilling it yourself.
Blocked Drain Lines
When your HVAC cools your home, a natural side effect is condensation. Condensation is an indication of the dehumidification process. As this occurs, moisture will be collected in the drip pan under the unit’s evaporator coils. This is not an issue, as the moisture is supposed to drain out.
However, when there is a blockage or clog in the drain line, the water will then build up in the pan. The excess water will then flow out of the pan. The clog or blockage can cause water damage in your home and lead to algae growth. The simple solution to prevent all these is to unclog the blocked drain lines.
Frozen Evaporator Coils
The evaporator coils are found in the HVAC’s inside unit. Their job is to gather the heat inside your house. As they do this job, they can get frozen when they are too cold. When these coils get frozen, your HVAC won’t work, or it won’t work effectively.
Frozen evaporator coils are common during cold weather. However, they can also be caused by issues such as leaking refrigerant or poor airflow. So, you just need to do the solutions for each of these issues, as we’ve shared above.
Dirty Condenser Coils
Unlike the evaporator coils, the condenser coils are found outside. Their job is to gather the heat outside and then blow cold air into the house. The problem is that since they are outside, it’s easy for them to collect pollutants, debris, and dirt. The accumulation of this filth can stop your HVAC from functioning optimally.
This can lead to harmful pollutants entering your home and causing breathing issues. You can visit https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ to read this article on indoor air pollution and respiratory health. It can also lead to an increase in energy bills. To resolve this issue, you need to clean the coils.
Short Cycling
Your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system has a cooling cycle that is usually completed within 15 minutes. This means the system will turn off after 15 minutes and then turn on shortly. If your unit is shutting off quickly and then turning back on in less than 15 minutes, it is experiencing short cycling.
When this happens, your system can be forced to overheat because of the abrupt temperature changes. This issue is often caused by poor airflow. That means to resolve it, you need to restore your HVAC’s proper airflow. You can follow the solutions we shared earlier when we discussed the problem of poor airflow.
Conclusion
Your HVAC unit is an important component of your home. When it’s faulty, you might be confused and end up spending much more than you ought to. This is why this article has discussed some of the common HVAC problems to give you an idea of why your system is not functioning as it should and how you can fix them. If you cannot fix the problems yourself, ensure that you hire a reliable technician to do the job.
