Imagine you get home from a hard day of work, only to realize…your air conditioner isn’t working. Your home is hot and muggy, and you’re a sweaty mess already!This is a common scenario when summer hits and the air conditioner overheats. When it overheats, it will trip the circuit breaker—and continue to do so until you fix the problem.Here are 3 common reasons why this happens, and what you can do about them.The air filter is the safety net that protects your air conditioner from dirt and pollutants. But when it’s covered in dirt, it goes from friend to foe.A dirty air filter blocks airflow in your home’s air ducts, forcing your air conditioner to run longer—and harder— to cool your home. This will continue until:You don’t want either, right?Solution: Change the air filter once a month. Out of air filters? Here’s our guide to choosing the right air conditioner air filter.Condenser coils are refrigerant filled tubes running through your air conditioner’s outside unit.  

If these coils are dirty, then your air conditioner runs longer, causing the air conditioner to overheat.Here’s why: Your standard split A/C unit has 2 parts: the outside unit and the inside unit. The inside unit uses refrigerant to absorb the heat in your indoor air to cool it down. That hot liquid refrigerant flows to the outside unit where the refrigerant dumps the heat out into the world.But if dirt covers the coils, the refrigerant can’t release the heat easily because dirt is an insulator. Basically, it’s like if you were wearing a sweater on a hot day. Your body would want to release the heat, but the wool would prevent the heat from leaving (talk about overheating!). So now the refrigerant can’t absorb more heat from your air, causing your air conditioner to blow out lukewarm air. Your air conditioner will keep running until it overheats because it can’t reach your thermostat temperature setting.Solution: Clean your outside unit using a special coil cleaning spray. Or call a professional to do it for you as part of a standard air conditioner maintenance visit.

Similar to problem #2, not having enough refrigerant will also cause your air conditioner to constantly run, leading to it overheat.Solution: Look out for the signs of low refrigerant:If you’ve noticed these signs, then you’re low on refrigerant. If you’re low on refrigerant then you also have a refrigerant leak because refrigerant is never “used up” like gas in a car.If you notice any of these signs, contact a professional air conditioner repair person. ac unit buzzing fan not runningThe professional should:Anyone who tries to add refrigerant without look for a leak is most likely trying to scam you, because they know you’ll have to call them again when you run out of refrigerant again.3 ton air handler heat pump So it's an air conditioner, right? portable ac unit 1000 btu

Technically, yes -- it conditions the air by cooling it, but it works much differently than what we commonly think of as an air conditioner. Standard AC units work by passing air over a set of coils filled with a refrigerant like Freon (a trade name for a variety of chemical blends), which heats and cools as it's compressed and expands. The air is cooled by the coils, sent into your house, and then re-circulated over and over through the machine, venting hot air generated in the process to the outside. (For more about standard air conditioners, see How Air Conditioners Work). It's a closed process -- leaving a window or door open allows the cool air to escape and makes the air conditioner work harder to supply cold air. Should you turn your heat down when you're not home? Top 7 Ways to Improve the Energy Efficiency of Your Garage How to Test Air Quality in The Home How to Drain a Radiator How to Test a Thermocouple on a Gas Valve Swamp coolers are an open system.

They rely on the flow of air through the building to direct the cool air, and since they always need hot, dry air to evaporate the water, it needs to displace the air already in the house. Both systems can use either a large central unit or small window units, but air from the swamp cooler needs a way out. Opening and closing windows and doors controls the air flow from the swamp cooler to different parts of the house, while central air conditioners use ducts to direct the flow. Swamp coolers can also use ducts in some cases, but they need to be larger than traditional air conditioner ducts to account for a greater flow of air from the swamp cooler. Standard air conditioners also dry the air, condensing water vapor from the cooled room as it passes over the cold coils. The water drains outside -- that's the distinctive drip you'll feel if you stand under a window air conditioning unit long enough. The result is a dryer room, and in humid climates, that can be a good thing. Too much humidity can prevent perspiration, which is how we cool ourselves naturally.

Since swamp coolers work by putting water into the dry air, they act as humidifiers. This is great in dryer climates, because humidity can also be too low for comfort. Under the right conditions the water-laden breeze also can have a secondary effect of helping the skin's perspiration, resulting in an even cooler feel than the swamp cooler would give on its own. Because of the different ways they work, you can't run a swamp cooler and a standard air conditioner in the same house. They would cancel each other out, just like running a dehumidifier and a humidifier in the same room. So, if you can only pick one, which is better? The swamp cooler or the air conditioner? As the summer heats up an air conditioning system is a necessity in many climates. [Grayson’s] system suffered some damage over the winter that caused it to vent its refrigerant, avoiding an explosive situation. Before he can chill out inside he’ll need to recharge it and he’s chosen to use propane in his cooling system.