During hot summer days, you probably rely on your home's air conditioning system to keep your house cool, but you may experience a time when it isn't working. This, ironically, usually happens on the hottest days of the year for many people, but there might be an easy fix to it. Before you rush to call an AC repair company, you may want to check the following things to see if you can fix the problem yourself. Here are some of the steps you may want to take before you call a repairman to come to your home.
Check The Thermostat
Before you do anything, you should check your thermostat. Did someone happen to turn it off, or did it get bumped by accident? If your thermostat is not set to the cool setting, your AC system will not function at all, and you should always begin diagnosing the problem by checking the thermostat. Even if it is set on the cool setting, you may want to flip it off and then turn it back on. Sometimes a thermostat can just get a small kink in it and resetting this switch might actually make the system turn on and start working as it should be.
Look At The AC System To See If It's Running
Next, you may want to see if your AC system is actually running. There are times when an AC is running but is not producing cool air, but there are other times when the system will not even turn on. If the system is running but is not producing cool air, you will most likely need to call an AC repair company, such as #1 Air Source, for help. If the system is not running even after checking the thermostat, there are several other things you can check before you call for repairs.
Examine Your Electrical Panel
If the AC system is not running, you should check the electrical panel next. If the breaker the system is tied to happened to turn off, there is no way it will be able to work. Breakers can trip for many reasons, but the result is always the same. When a breaker trips, the power is shut off to whatever that breaker is attached to. If you find that the breaker has tripped, shut it off and turn it back on. This may solve your AC problems.
Check The Switch On The AC System
There are a lot of AC systems that have switches or reset buttons on them, and looking for this button or switch is also a good step to take. If the breaker is fine, check to see if you can locate a button or reset switch on the device. If so, shut it off and turn it back on. If this was the problem, the system might turn on as soon as you do this.
Examine The Outdoor Condenser
Finally, you may want to go outside and look at the condenser part of your AC system. The condenser is an important part of your AC system, and the fan inside the condenser can stop working. If this happens, your system will stop being able to produce cool air. When you check this part of your system, see if the fan is running. If not, this might be the problem that is preventing your AC system from producing cold air.
There are so many things that can cause an AC system to fail, and these are just the most basic problems a system may encounter. If you check these things and cannot figure out what is going on, you can call a company that offers air conditioning services. They will find the problem and fix it for you.
A few years ago, I could tell that we were having serious furnace problems. In addition to dealing with a house that was constantly too cold or too warm, we were also plagued by a noisy, smelly furnace that seemed to have trouble on a daily basis. Unfortunately, I didn't know enough about furnaces at the time to spot the problems quickly. One day, the entire system died, and it was beyond repair. After having that experience, I learned a lot about HVAC systems, so that I could troubleshoot future systems. This website is all about teaching you what you need to know so that you don't end up in the same situation.