Why Is It Still Hot With The Air Conditioner On?

10 May Why Is It Still Hot With The Air Conditioner On?

Kingsport, TN

The month of July, 2023 was the hottest in recorded history, according to meteorological data. We have all experienced the stuffy, uncomfortable reality of a home or office in which the air conditioner was running but the air remained warm. It can be a wildly frustrating, and wildly expensive, problem to have. The heating and cooling experts at Thompson Electrical Service, are poised to assist you year-round with your HVAC maintenance needs.

Staying hot while the HVAC is running

An A/C unit failing to cool a stubbornly warm room may not always be due to a unit malfunction.

Let’s take a look at a few potential root causes

1. Your home is drafty. Granted, the idea of a draft in the heart of August can be soothing. However, it also means your air conditioner has to pull double duty, attempting to keep pace with the amount of warm air sneaking its way into your home. Be sure to check around your windows, doors and outlets and seal any gaps you find.
2. Your air ducts are leaking. Similar to the issues a window or door draft can cause for a cooling unit, leaks in your air ducts absolutely undermine the air conditioner’s mission to cool your home effectively. Chilled air leaking from an unsealed air duct is chilled air lost from the very places you need and want it most.
3. Your A/C unit is too small for your home. Let’s say it together – “Size matters”. If your cooling unit is too small, it will struggle to keep up with the amount of heat coming into your home or office. A unit that’s too big will constantly turn on and off. Either way, your home is not cooled efficiently and your energy bills will skyrocket. The licensed HVAC experts at Thompson Electrical Service work with you to determine the most efficient air conditioning unit that meets your home’s needs.
4. Your vents are closed. You may have read that you should close vents in the rooms you visit least. This is bad advice. Closed vents force your cooling unit to work harder to transport the chilled air greater distances to the areas with open vents. This increases pressure in your duct system and means the unit blower has to run longer to bring your home’s temperature down. Keep your vents open and help make your HVAC unit’s job easier.
5. The unit needs more refrigerant. Your air conditioning unit is built to recirculate refrigerant throughout its lifespan. However, if the unit has a leak of some kind, it’s time to schedule an onsite consultation with the certified experts at Thompson Electrical Service, to assess your need to either repair or replace your air conditioning unit.
6. Your condenser is dirty. Your condenser is located on your outside unit. It siphons out the warm air from inside your home and releases it to the free world. If there are nearby trees or other debris that have found their way into your condenser’s path of airflow, your condenser can’t effectively do the job that it was designed to do. By extension, neither will your air conditioner.
7. Your air filter is dirty. When filters reach their saturation of pet dander, dust and dirt, your A/C has to work overtime to get air to pass through all those obstructions. The more you remember to change your filters periodically, the happier you will be with the performance of your air conditioning unit and with the cool environment it creates for you.

Air Conditioning Maintenance and Installation in Kingsport, Johnson City and Bristol, Tennessee

While there are some easy steps you can take to maximize your home’s cool airflow, we recommend that you trust service issues to a licensed, experienced HVAC professional. At Thompson Electrical Service, our staff includes technicians adept at repairing, replacing or upgrading your air conditioner to meet your home’s specific needs.

Thompson Electrical Service has been proudly earning the trust of residential and commercial HVAC customers for over 20 years. Our reliable, skilled, customer-focused professionals are waiting to help you achieve the chilled, inviting indoor environment you want and deserve at the hottest time of year. For more information or for an onsite consultation, give our office a call today at (423) 343-5726.