When it comes to caring for your air conditioning system, it’s important to know the signs that something is wrong. Seeing ice on your system is one of these signs. Oftentimes, homeowners assume that since ice is associated with cooling, that it is normal to see it develop on their cooling system. Unfortunately, this is a common misconception that can cause considerable damage to your AC.
There are a couple possible reasons that you may see ice in your cooling system, one being considerably more severe than the other. Whatever the cause is, however, ice is not a good sign and should be dealt with by a professional immediately.
Dirty Air Filter
When you see ice on your air conditioner, the most likely spot you’ll see it is on the indoor evaporator coil. This can be caused by something as simple as a dirty air filter, which is something you can prevent from happening again by changing the air filter on a regular basis (every 1-3 months during periods of HVAC system use).
What happens is that your air filter gets so clogged that it reduces the airflow in your cooling system so much that there isn’t enough warm air moving over the evaporator coil. As a result, the diminished heat transfer can cause the coil to get too cold, and condensation can freeze up on it, insulating the coil and turning the problem into a vicious circle.
The other, more severe, cause of ice on your air conditioning system is a refrigerant leak. If there is too low a level of refrigerant in your AC system, then either a technician did not supply it with enough during installation, or you have a leak. Refrigerant is not consumed by your system—it is recycled. Therefore the lack of refrigerant is a serious problem. If you suspect this is the case or even if you don’t but have ice on your air conditioner, be sure to call for professional assistance from our team. Trying to chip away the ice on your own can actually do more harm than good!
For professional air conditioning repairs throughout Lake Nona, FL and beyond, contact Southeast Air & Heat today.
