If your AC unit is functioning properly, it’s going to cycle on a fairly predictable basis as it cools your living or workspace. An air conditioner that never seems to take a break is a cause for concern. Non-stop operation will shorten the life of critical AC components and raise your utility bills to boot. Here are a few fairly common reasons why your central AC unit might be running all the time.
1. Dirty or Overly Restrictive Air Filters
Air filters don’t just skim dangerous particulates like pollen and dust from circulating air. They also play a vital role in maintaining a consistent temperature indoors. If your AC unit can’t deliver enough air to the condenser and evaporator coils due to clogged filters, cooling performance will suffer. This means that the blower has to work overtime to make up the difference. The end result is an air conditioner that runs more often than it should.
2. Leaky or Poorly Insulated HVAC Ducts
Tightly sealed ducts allow your AC unit to minimize wasted effort by efficiently delivering cool air to select areas within your home or office. Compromised ducts allow precious cold air to seep into unwanted places and force a central air conditioner to run more often than normal. If your ducts are leaky enough, your AC unit may run around the clock due to its inability to reach the target temperature of your home or office’s thermostat.
3. Filthy or Blocked Evaporator Coils
Given enough time, the evaporator coils found within the plenum of your AC unit will accumulate a fair amount of grime. Coils coated in all manner of dust and bug guts can’t efficiently suck thermal energy out of the interior air. As a result, your HVAC system will work a lot harder to cool any given volume of air. Frozen evaporator coils are an even bigger issue that can cause your AC to run constantly.
4. Filthy or Blocked Condenser Coils
Thanks to their exposure to the outside elements, condenser coils have a tendency to get clogged up with all manner of debris even faster than evaporator coils. If these coils can’t dissipate heat at the rate they were designed to, your AC unit will have to run more frequently to achieve your desired results. Long story short, clogged coils of any kind force your HVAC equipment to log extra hours when the mercury rises.
5. Blower Motor and Fan Performance Problems
Malfunctioning motors and their associated fans often struggle to deliver enough air to cool a space if they’ve been neglected for years at a time. For instance, accumulations of dust can cause relatively delicate electronic components like motherboards to overheat and fail prematurely. Likewise, a thick coating of grime and grease can impede a fan’s movement. An HVAC system that can’t move enough air will frequently cycle as it attempts to keep a house cool.
6. Low Levels of AC Refrigerant
Even the simplest residential AC system relies on an appropriate amount of the right refrigerant to keep a space frosty under punishing conditions. Over time, refrigerant tends to leak out of minute cracks and pinholes in the HVAC hardware. Without enough coolant to compress at the right times and in the right places, your AC unit will struggle to transfer heat from the interior to the exterior. As you might expect, low coolant levels can often cause rapid cycling.
7. Poor HVAC System Design and Installation
Every AC unit on the market is designed to operate within specific performance parameters. For instance, a standalone window-mounted AC machine is typically capable of cooling a single room or a small apartment at most. An AC unit that’s too small for a given area will have to operate more frequently to meet expectations. Many home and business owners who have renovated their properties without upgrading their AC infrastructure often run into this issue.
Contact the Pros to Solve Your AC Woes!
Your AC unit has a hard enough time cooling your Texas property without having to deal with the aforementioned problems. When your AC starts to run non-stop, it’s time to call the professionals at Texas Pride Heating & Air. We can tackle any AC repair and installation problem you can throw at us. Give us a ring to see why we’re the top residential and commercial AC contractor in the central Dallas–Fort Worth area!
