A Clogged Condenser Coil Keeps Your AC From Cooling Your Home

When it's hot outside, you want your AC to keep you nice and cool indoors. When your AC runs, you expect it to put out chilled air that keeps your home comfortable. However, it's possible for your AC to malfunction and not keep your home cool even though it runs.

You'll want an air conditioning repair technician to fix this problem as soon as possible since your air conditioner may run longer than usual and drive up your electricity bill. A lack of refrigerant, a clogged filter, a frozen evaporator coil, or a blocked condenser coil can all cause this problem. Here's a look at how a condenser coil problem keeps your AC from cooling your house.

The Condenser Coil Releases Heat Outside

If you've ever been outside near your condenser when your AC kicked on, you've probably felt the blast of hot air that comes out of the condenser. This happens because the purpose of the condenser coil is to help the refrigerant release the heat it picked up inside your house. An air conditioner works by picking up the heat indoors and moving it outside.

A fan in the condenser blows over the coil to help move heat away, so proper air circulation is essential or the coils won't cool down enough. If the coil can't cool down as much as it needs to, it won't pick up as much heat on its next circulation through the evaporator and your home won't get cool.

The Condenser Coil Can Get Blocked

In order for the condenser coil to release heat, the air has to circulate around the copper lines. If the coil is coated with dirt or if the fins next to the coil are clogged up, air won't contact the lines to cool them off. The coil might get dirty if the air conditioner sits in a dirt yard or when you mow grass and grass clippings fly against the fins.

The fins can also get bent and close off air circulation. It's a good idea to keep an eye on the condenser throughout the summer to ensure air circulation is maintained. Keep weeds and tall grass away and don't block airflow by putting a screen too close to your AC. If you know how and feel comfortable doing it, you can rinse the fins and coil when they start to look dirty. Otherwise, call an air conditioning repair company to handle the problem so your home gets cool again.

The AC Repair Technician May Look For Problems

An air conditioning repair technician can clean off dirty fins and coil using a chemical cleaning foam and by scrubbing them. They can also use a tool that straightens flat fins. This gets the condenser coil clean and improves airflow so the coil can work optimally again. The technician might also look for other problems that can affect the condenser coil. For instance, if the fan isn't working, the fan motor might need to be replaced so the fan can blow hot air away from the coil again.

It's important for the fan and natural air circulation to remove heat from the condenser for the sake of the refrigerant in the condenser coil. Keeping the condenser cool is also important for the fan motor and compressor because if heat builds up, those parts might fail too.

For more help with your AC system maintenance, contact an air conditioning repair service in your area.