3 Reasons Your Home Aircon Unit is Freezing Up

Has your home aircon unit stopped functioning properly due to freezing? It’s a little ironic that a system designed to release cold air on hot days could be prone to freezing up, but that doesn’t stop it from happening. Because it’s not an issue you’d expect to encounter, however, many homeowners aren’t equipped with the knowledge to quickly fix the issue - a misstep that can prove disastrous during the height of summer.

To prevent this from happening, let’s take a look at three common reasons why AC freeze ups happen and how to fix them.



Blocked Airflow

Air conditioners require a constant stream of air so that humidity can’t settle on the internal coils and freeze. In order to ensure that the air flow within your house is flowing enough so as not to impact your AC unit’s functionality, you need to first make sure that your air filters aren’t dirty and thus becoming clogged. Air filters are cheap to replace and routinely changing them could significantly improve the efficiency of your system, not to mention that it minimises the risk of freeze ups happening.

If this does end up being the case, the first thing to do is turn off your system and leave it to defrost (between 1-3 hours). Once a sufficient amount of time has passed, turn on the fan for around an hour and use this time to change your air filter.

Mechanical Problems

Home aircon units are full of small moving parts that can get stuck, broken or clogged with relative ease. From refrigerant lines kinking to leaks, there are several issues that can result in a drop in pressure, allowing the refrigerant lines to expand too much and get too cold. Because refrigerant plays a key role in ensuring a regulated temperature throughout your unit, any change can lead to freezing.

While some problems are harder to fix than others, when it comes to matters regarding mechanical failures and leaks, many are best tackled with the help of a professional air conditioning engineer. Though most refrigerants are safe to use at home, it’s still worth consulting with an expert who knows how to properly handle them. Alternatively, if you feel the issue might be a mechanical fault, contacting a HVAC company can still save you plenty of time and money.

Temperature Drops

Air conditioners are designed to operate within a specific set of temperature thresholds. That means, when temperatures drop at night, it can throw the AC unit’s calibration out of whack. As such, having a programmable thermostat can pre-empt this issue by turning the AC unit off when temperatures hit a certain minimum. Alternatively, you can use your discretion and turn off your unit when it seems as though the night will be especially cool and turn off your system manually.

Aircon Installation & Maintenance Services in Coventry

AC freezing is a common problem many homeowners face. However, the factors leading up to a freeze are preventable with a bit of routine maintenance. As one of the Midlands’ leading HVAC Companies, Westcott Air Conditioning can provide a range of air conditioning services to meet your needs. Contact our expert team today for more information.