Air Conditioner Troubleshooting: Common Signs Of Restricted Airflow

Inadequate airflow in an air conditioning system usually causes a drop in performance. This is because an air conditioner depends on the balance between warm air supply and the refrigerant's heat absorption rate to maintain an efficient heat-exchange process. Therefore, if you want to ensure that your system's performance remains at its peak, you should look out for the following restricted airflow signs.

Evaporator coil icing

One of the main effects of the imbalance between rate of air supply and the refrigerant's heat absorption rate is coil icing. This happens because adequate warm air supply usually has a warming effect on the evaporator coil. Therefore, when the supply of this warm air drops to less-than-expected levels, the temperatures in this area will drop to freezing levels. This abnormal drop in temperature then causes the moisture in the air to condense and then freeze. The frozen water then covers the coils, causing evaporator coil icing.

Air conditioner water leaks

This is a sign that is common in air conditioners that have iced coils. This is because the evaporator coil icing usually encourages the system to hold more of the condensate than it should. This is a problem since when this ice melts, it will release all the stored condensate at once. This then leads to the condensate drainage system getting overwhelmed, something that will then lead to water filling the condensate collector tray, increasing the risks of air conditioner water leaks.

Air conditioner noise

If your air conditioning system makes a banging noise, you likely have a restricted airflow problem. This is so especially if the noise is coming from the air duct system.

Duct system banging noises arise from the duct system not being large enough to feed the blower. What happens is that the blower ends up sucking air from the ducts at a rate that is too fast for the duct system. The ducts fail to replace the air at a good-enough rate, something that then leads to the creation of a vacuum within the duct. This vacuum then causes the walls of the air ducts to collapse hence the banging noises.

These noises can be prevented by replacing the ducts will larger ones. Adding more inlet air ducts will also work and so will boosting the structural integrity of the ducts by reinforcing them.

To prevent evaporator coil icing and water leaks, clean clogged filters. Cleaning your blower fan and straightening any bent fan blades will also go a long way towards increasing your airflow within your air conditioner. For more information or assistance, contact companies like Mountain Air Comfort Systems.


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