Trips

WHY AN AIR CONDITIONER

A CIRCUiT BREAKEROverheating from Dirty Filters

overheating from dirty coils

Fan fails

Leaking refrigerant

Your air conditioner may be drawing too much energy because it is working too hard pulling air through a dirty air filter. When the air conditioning unit can’t pull air through the filter, it works harder, draws more electricity and then trips the circuit. Make sure to frequently check your air conditioner’s filter, and change it every 30 to 60 days.

Your air conditioner has condenser coils in the outside condensing unit. Refrigerant runs through these coils, while a fan blows air through the coils to get rid of the heat that the refrigerant has absorbed. The refrigerant can then flow back into the inside of your home and absorb more heat from your home. When your condenser coils are dirty, the refrigerant can’t cool down from the fan. Wash the coils off with a weak stream of water, or get an A/C tune-up.

Sometimes the fan that pulls cool air through the condenser coils and compressor fails. If this fan isn’t working, the refrigerant and compressor cannot cool down, causing the air conditioner to work harder, pull more electricity and then trip the circuit. If your air conditioner’s condenser fan fails, call an HVAC specialist.

Refrigerant is a main component inside of your air conditioner. When there isn’t enough in your unit, the air conditioner heats up, and tries harder to cool the refrigerant down, pulling more electricity and tripping the circuit breaker. Air conditioners are closed systems. So, if you don’t have enough refrigerant in your unit, you have a leak. An HVAC contractor will be able to repair the leak and top off your refrigerant.