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Many people ask: Why is my air conditioner leaking water or icing up?  If you see water leaking from your indoor coil or ice on your air conditioner it is having a problem.  The main causes for this are: restricted airflow due to a blocked filter or ice forming, and an incorrect refrigerant charge that can cause ice to form and blow the air to your blower.

The Magic of Refrigeration

When the air conditioner is working normally, it is taking all the hot air from the inside of your home and blowing it across the cold coil that is located near the blower of your hvac system. Included in that hot air from your house is all the moisture and dirt that was in that air as well.  When the air conditioner is working correctly that evaporator coil will condense that moisture and send it to the floor drain while the dry, cool air is sent back into your home making everything feel more comfortable.  The dust and dirt from the air will be blocked by the furnace filter.

Your Air Conditioner Functions as a Giant De-Humidifier

When we take the moisture out of the air it feels more pleasant and your home will feel less muggy.  Almost even more important than the temperature, a lack of humidity in the air makes your whole home more comfortable.

As that moisture is taken out of the air and blown across the cold coil, moisture can freeze to the coil turning it into a block of ice.  If a block of ice forms on your evaporator coil, that will eventually restrict the airflow to the blower causing the entire system to malfunction.

Why Would The Coil Freeze?

An improper refrigerant charge.  If you have an improper refrigerant charge it can cause the evaporator coil to become TOO COLD that will then cause the moisture taken out of the air to freeze to the coil instead of draining to the drain pan.  This then causes a block to the airflow causing the system to shut down.

You will know this is happening if you hear the air conditioner running however you do not feel any airflow from the registers.  That means there is a block in airflow.  It is best to turn off the unit to melt the ice so your service technician can figure out what caused the initial problem.  You can think of the block of ice as a symptom of a different problem that needs to be solved.

Refrigerant Leaks Cause Improper Refrigerant Charge

If your air conditioner was working fine last summer and this summer your refrigerant charge is off, that means there may be a leak somewhere.  Your hvac system should be a closed system where the refrigerant doesn’t go back, stale or run out.  If your system is low on refrigerant there is a leak. Oftentimes people want to fix the problem by recharging their air conditioner with more refrigerant.  However that is not a fix.  If you have an un-repaired leak and you add more refrigerant to your system, that means refrigerant is leaking out as soon as you put it in.

Recharging the air conditioner without fixing a leak is also not the least expensive repair option.  Refrigerant has become extremely expensive depending on type.  It is best to fix the leak first and then correct the refrigerant charge.

Restricted Airflow

An air conditioner can also “ice up” due to a blocked air filter.  If an air filter is extremely dirty and plugged up, it can cause the same effect as a bad refrigerant charge to make the unit operate too cold and will form a block of ice.

Often when you see water dripping from the unit it is because the ice that had formed is thawing when the unit shuts off due to lack of airflow.

Until you thaw out and observe it operating, you won’t know why it is malfunctioning.

Keeping Water Where It Is Not Supposed To Be Can Be A Challenge

Water can cause many problems with your air conditioner.  Another important issue is to make sure you are properly getting the water from your air conditioner to the drain in your basement.  There is a drain pan that is paired with your cooling coil. It is important to keep that drain pan clean and unrestricted.  If there is a clog in the drain pan or the hose from the unit to the pan that can also cause a water problem.

One thing to keep in mind is that your coil is in a cool, wet, dark place.  It is very easy for the water draining from the evaporator coil to turn into very slimy stuff.  You may have heard of “pan treatments” during your routine maintenance visits.  A “pan treatment” will treat the water that sits in the drain pan that will help the drain line, hoses and pan cleared from plugs.  The drain pan has an algaecide to combat the algae and will allow the water to drain properly.

A De-Humidifier Will Help With Unwanted Water On The Ductwork

When the air conditioner is running, the ductwork is cold and dark surrounded by warmer air.  When the moisture from your home comes into contact with the cold ductwork, that can cause moisture to form on the outside of the ductwork.  This problem can be solved with a whole home dehumidifier.  A whole home dehumidifier can be attached to the ductwork or directly to areas that have the biggest moisture problems.

Moisture in a home knows no boundaries.  If storage room is humid it’s getting into the rest of the house.  If you dry out humid spots, it helps the whole house.

Dehumidifiers also give your air conditioner a break from bearing the sole responsibility of removing humidity from your home.  With a dehumidifier you do not need to run the air conditioner as much to maintain a comfortable temperature.  You can also keep your house a few degrees warmer and not run ac as much with a dehumidifier since a dehumidifier makes the air feel cooler.  Since the dehumidifier runs independently from the air conditioner, on days where it is not hot, but humid, the home can be kept comfortable and yet not use the air conditioner at all.

Why does my furnace turn on, but then not heat? There could be a variety of possible problems.  Most furnaces will default to just running the blower if it senses a malfunction.  Furnaces have an array of sensors that will detect overheating and automatically shut off the heating element if it senses a possible safety problem.  This is why you will experience your furnace “running” but not heating.

This is one of the most common questions we hear.  Although it is a common problem, there could be many possible reasons why your furnace would turn on, but not heat.  Ramon Blachly, an industry expert for more than 35 years, discusses in the video below how and why this may be happening to you.

Gas pressure: a possible, but very rare problem

On extremely bitter cold days, during a time of day where most people would be home, gas pressure could suffer.  Lower gas pressure could cause your furnace to lock itself out and stop heating.  If you turn everything off, then ask your thermostat to call for heat again and it comes on, this may have been the problem.

Check your filter

High efficiency air filters do a great job at collecting dirt that would otherwise be sent into your furnace and out into your home’s air.  However, if they get too dirty, they could cause a malfunction with your furnace.  If your furnace stops working, it may be due to overheating caused by your dirty furnace filter.  If you find that your filter is packed with dirt, that may have been the problem.  We recommend you change your filter every month if you use a disposable filter.

It is probably not the pilot light

While a pilot light going out used to be a very common reason for your furnace to run, but not heat, it is not a typical problem anymore.  If you have a furnace that was installed in the last 15 to 20 years, chances are your furnace does not ignite with the use of a pilot light at all.  Instead most furnaces today use electronic starters that eliminate the need for a standard pilot light.

It is possible your thermostat got reset

We’re not going to point any fingers, but it is possible your thermostat got reset without you being aware that it happened.  If you wake up and it is cold in your house, it could be that your thermostat was accidentally put in a mode where it is not calling for heat when it usually does.  Try resetting your thermostat and see if that was the problem.

Listen for the sequence of operation

If you suspect your furnace is not operating properly, you can listen to the following sequence of operation to determine which component of your furnace is malfunctioning. Note: This is how most furnaces function. Yours could be different.

1. Your thermostat will call for heat

2. Your inducer fan should come on.  The inducer fan is tied to your venting components.  If the inducer fan doesn’t come on there could be a variety of venting issues.  Maybe there is a bird nest somewhere or an ice block somewhere…it would take some detective work to figure this out.

3. After about 20-30 seconds  your ignitor will light.  You’ll see a glow like a lightbulb.

4. Then the gas will come on.  You’ll see burners light and then the ignitor will go out.  The furnace will warm up for about 30 seconds.

5. Then the main blower will come on.

6.  At the end of the heating cycle, the opposite will happen.

If you listen for all of the above you can loosely diagnose what the problem is.  Does the inducer fan come on, but the ignitor doesn’t light?  Bingo we’ve narrowed it down.

Is this a serious problem?

Sometimes a freak problem will happen and your furnace will function properly after resetting the thermostat.  However, most often, if your furnace malfunctions once, it will probably do it again.  Furnaces are made to detect safety issues before they become dangerous and shut off the furnace. It may be safer and more convenient to have a professional come out and fix the problem before it happens again.

How to help your furnace help you in the winter months

Your furnace is already working extremely hard to maintain a comfortable temperature while the temperatures outside feel arctic.  There are a few things you can do to be more friendly to your furnace while it is working overtime.

1. Don’t let your house cool off while you are not there or at night. 
   Many of us economically-minded folks try to have our furnace run as little as possible so our utility bills will be lower.  Oftentimes while we are not at home we will let our house get colder and then heat it up more when we get home.  Ordinarily that is not a bad idea. However when it is frigid outside, it is best to just leave your thermostat at a comfortable temperature even when you are not there.  Your furnace will struggle to make up the difference in temperature and may it be impossible to recover the temperature in the amount of time you expect.
2. Open cabinet doors to let the heat in.
   This will warm up your plumbing and make your house a more comfortable and consistent temperature.
3. Keep your furnace clean and serviced
   It is remarkable how few of our customers will have a breakdown after they have their furnace maintained.  The best way to ensure your furnace will be running smoothly is to clean and check all those components in your furnace that could cause it to malfunction.  While you can certainly change your filter we recommend leaving the cleaning of the inside components of the furnace to a trained professional.

Watch the video below from Ramon with even more information.

Nobody wants to replace their air conditioner before they absolutely must.

Power outages, even for a few seconds can sometimes destroy your air conditioner or severely damage it. By installing a surge protector, upgraded contactor, and a hard start kit, your air conditioner will be protected from lightning strikes and power outages that wreck havoc on your most expensive appliance: your air conditioner.

We can get some wicked storms in the Midwest.

In 2011 our office building was struck by lightning and caught fire. We experienced a total loss of our office and had to rebuild. While nothing could have stopped the fire from happening, we did become aware of how often lightning and simple power outages can severely damage your furnace and air conditioner. After our experience and realizing that many of our customers would have problems with their air conditioners after power outages, we put together a simple package of products that will protect your hvac system in case of lightning strikes or power outages.

There are three things we recommend to protect your air conditioner:

1. Surge Protector

Be honest. Do you have a surge protector to protect your $300 television, but not to protect your $10,000 air conditioner? We see it all the time. Here’s what happens: it is the middle of summer with about 1000% humidity so your air conditioner is working overtime. Your lights go off for a brief moment then come back on. All clear? No. If the power outage happens while your air conditioner was running the power outage forced the hard-working air conditioner to stop suddenly then immediately turn itself back on.

2. Hard Start Kit

Starting up is hard to do.

The compressor is the heart of the air conditioner. When it tries to start, it uses a lot of amps which is very hard on the components used to start the system. The more difficult it is for a compressor to start, the more wear and tear is happening to your air conditioner. If a compressor fails to start altogether, no air conditioning for you. A Hard Start Kit is a type of capacitor that gives your air conditioner extra help when it is struggling to turn on. This is a component that does not come standard on most air conditioners so we recommend adding one to your system.

3. Upgraded Contactor

The contactor is a switch for the air conditioner that turns the system on. Most standard capacitors are not capable of monitoring the amount of power going into the air conditioner. Your cooling system needs sufficient power to turn on and if it tries to turn on without sufficient power, this can hurt the system. A better, upgraded contactor will automatically stop the air conditioner from trying to come on if there is not enough power to do it harmlessly.

As we said before, the hardest task you ask your air conditioner to do is to start. The easier you make the starting process with a hard start kit, and ensure it does it with enough power by using an upgraded capacitor, your air conditioner will last longer and run better.