During the heat of summer, you know that you can retreat to the comfort of your home and rely on your AC unit to provide you with the cool relief you need. At least, that should be the case. However, you might be facing a problem with your air conditioner where the unit turns off before it can get the temperature down to what you set on your thermostat. This can make it very difficult to keep your home at a good and comfortable temperature. This frustrating problem is called short cycling, and it can be caused by a range of things.
Common Causes
One of the potential causes of this problem is having an air conditioner that is not the right size for your home. If the AC system is too large, it will be too powerful for the home, and fill the place with cold air quickly. It will think that it has done its job and then it will turn off. This can lead to some massive temperature changes, and it could cause the unit to try to work more often, which can cause stress to the system.
Another cause could be evaporator coils that have been frozen. If these coils were to freeze, it would mean that the unit can’t remove the heat as effectively, and this can cause a malfunction. Naturally, this will cause it to shut down.
Clogged air filters are also a common problem and one that is easy to remedy. If the air filter has not been changed recently, it means that the system’s airflow is going to be blocked. The unit could overheat, which will cause it to shut down before it can cool the area properly.
Not having enough refrigerant in the unit can be a problem, as well. Again, it can overheat and shut down. This can also end up causing other problems that cause more malfunctions and damage to the unit.
You could also have a system that has troubles with the electrical connections, and this could be causing the short cycling, which is going to require AC repair.
How to Prevent This Problem
If you want to reduce the risk of this happening to your unit, you will want to provide proper preventative maintenance. Change out the filters, and get in touch with an AC repair company that can provide your system with checkups and make sure everything is running properly.
