Why Does Your Air Conditioner Freeze in Summer?

confused woman

The summer can get extremely hot in Asheville, so how in the world is your home’s air conditioner freezing over? It seems to make no sense. You may not even realize it’s happening. How will you determine if your air conditioner is frozen? It may seem like a silly question, but you generally won’t actually see the ice except in extreme cases. Here are symptoms to monitor for that indicate you could be dealing with a frozen AC system that could need air conditioning service:

  • Warm air is coming out of your registers while the air conditioner is operating.
  • Water is leaking from or gathering under your air conditioner.

When we say your home’s air conditioner is frozen, what’s actually frozen is the evaporator coil, which transfers heat out of your home to keep it cool. There are two main causes that an evaporator coil may freeze; one is a refrigerant leak and the other reason is a blockage of airflow.

If your air conditioner has a refrigerant leak, you will want to discuss with your 1st Choice Service Group Inc technician during your air conditioning service appointment to determine if you will benefit more from repairing or replacing your air conditioner. We can help you assess the pros and cons using facts such as the age of your air conditioner and its service history, among other things.

If your air conditioner has frozen because of an airflow blockage, it’s because there isn’t sufficient air passing over the evaporator coil to dry the condensation that acquires on it—then it freezes. Air flow blockages are commonly caused by dirty air filters or even dirty cooling fins. These problems can be fixed (and avoided!) by a routine air conditioner service appointment. At these service sessions, your technician will clean your system, replace your air filters and make sure everything is working as it should with no potential problems on the horizon. It’s also a good idea to mark your calendar or set a reminder on your phone to check your air filters often and change your air filters when they are dirty. Always check that furniture, curtains and other household items aren’t blocking your registers, as even this could cause a large airflow problem and the ensuing freezing problems.

If your air conditioner freezes, turn it off using your thermostat and call the experts at 1st Choice Service Group Inc to schedule an air conditioning service appointment. We’ll help you identify the complications and have your home back to cool and comfortable in no time. Call us at 828-551-2913 or arrange an appointment with us online.