When your air conditioner is working correctly, it should never blow warm air. Warm air from your AC likely indicates a problem with the unit. It’s critical you have an HVAC technician inspect it as soon as possible. If you’re wondering if it’s time to call an HVAC tech, learn more about the five main reasons why your AC is blowing warm air and the leading solutions for each problem.
Your air conditioner could be blowing warm air due to thermostat issues, low refrigerant levels, frozen evaporator coils, or a variety of other problems. When you know the primary reasons why an AC might be blowing warm air, you can more quickly spot when your AC is having issues and take action before a problem spirals out of control. Review the five reasons why your AC might feel warm and how to solve them below:
Sometimes, an AC that isn’t blowing cool air is due to a malfunctioning thermostat or an improper setting. Before you spring for a full HVAC inspection, ensure your thermostat hasn’t been accidentally set to heat. If it’s not on its heating setting, your thermostat could be malfunctioning.
Typically, the chance of a thermostat issue being to blame is increased if the thermostat is older or hasn’t been calibrated correctly. You can always check your thermostat manual to ensure all your settings are correct. Still, you’ll probably need to contact an HVAC specialist to review your thermostat and the rest of your HVAC system to determine if the thermostat is to blame.
When your thermostat isn’t to blame, there’s a high chance low refrigerant levels are causing the warm air. Your AC’s refrigerant absorbs the humidity and heat in your air. If your AC doesn’t have enough refrigerant, it won’t be able to effectively remove heat from your air, resulting in warm airflow.
AC refrigerant circulates within a sealed system. While some components require regular maintenance, air conditioner refrigerant rarely needs service—unless there is a problem. In these cases, your AC is likely leaking refrigerant from a hole or crack.
Usually, you can tell your AC has low refrigerant if ice is building up in your exterior unit or if you can hear bubbling or hissing noises. Without quick service, the leaking refrigerant could damage your compressor motor. As a result, you must have an HVAC technician inspect your system, repair any leaks, and refill your refrigerant.
When your condenser coils work correctly, they’ll remove heat from your home’s air and transport it outdoors. However, these coils are in your outdoor condenser and can be exposed to the elements. Due to their location outdoors, grime, dirt, and other debris can sometimes accumulate on them, resulting in reduced heat transfer. Without proper heat transfer, your AC will start blowing warm air. The dirty coils can even put greater strain on your AC, causing early breakdowns.
To solve dirty condenser coils, a trained HVAC technician must turn off your condenser, open up your unit, and clean the coils. You can reduce the chance of your condenser coils getting dirty by regularly removing debris around the condenser and using a hose to wash off any dirt build-up.
Another reason your AC might be blowing warm air is frozen evaporator coils. Your evaporator coils contain your AC’s refrigerant and will help absorb heat from your air. Ice can build up on these coils when you have low refrigerant levels or when air can’t flow properly through your unit. Though the evaporator coils will be cold, they won’t be able to absorb warm air. In these cases, your AC will either blow warm air or no air at all.
Since frozen evaporator coils usually indicate a problem with your AC, you’ll need an HVAC technician to inspect your unit to find the source of the problem. Usually, dirty air filters or refrigerant levels will have caused the freezing, so an HVAC technician may need to repair or replace a filter before cleaning the evaporator coils.
Your AC’s air filters prevent dust and debris from entering your HVAC system. Over time, these filters will get clogged. If you don’t change them, air can't flow through your system easily, and your AC might blow warm air. Fortunately, solving a dirty air filter is easy!
You can simply swap out the old filter for a clean one that fits your system. To prevent dirty filters in the future, you might also want to sign up for a maintenance plan where an HVAC technician will regularly swap out your filters and inspect your system.
If you’re looking for AC repair, replacement, or maintenance services near you in Novato or the surrounding areas, Peter Levi has you covered. When your AC is blowing warm air, you can trust our HVAC technicians to thoroughly inspect your system, share our results with you, and provide any repairs your AC needs to start working again. We can also replace your AC with a more energy-efficient model if it’s damaged beyond repair or on its last legs. Additionally, we offer multiple coupons to ensure you receive the best deal possible on our services.
We welcome you to learn more about our air conditioning services to get started. Please contact us if you have any questions or want to schedule an appointment today!
NOVATO
24 Digital Dr STE 1
Novato, CA 94949
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1021 Mason St, STE 11
Vacaville, CA 95688
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