During the hottest days of summer, walking into your home to find your A/C clearly blowing warm or even hot air can leave you miserable, not to mention worried about the possibility of a big expense if it turns out to be a serious breakdown.
Today, we’ll take a look at common reasons for this problem, and let you know what to do if the fix isn’t exactly an easy one.
Is Your Thermostat Set to “Auto”?
If your home’s thermostat gets bumped and ends up set to “auto” or “on”, the fan will continue to blow long after the home has been cooled to the temperature selected. This means the fan will blow room-temp air instead of cooler air, as the A/C isn’t actually running at the time. This won’t cause your home to heat or anything, but can affect your energy bills, so make sure yours is set to “cool”, so it will only blow when actively cooling your home.
Is Airflow Restricted?
Restricted airflow can cause your outside unit to freeze up, no longer providing the cool air you need and leading to vents blowing lukewarm or even warm air into your home. It will leave you with insufficient cool air and your home environment can get uncomfortable, quickly.
Common causes of restricted airflow include:
- Clogged air filter: This can be fixed just by switching out your air filter frequently.
- Dirty coils in your HVAC: Schedule a maintenance visit from a professional to get them cleaned. Our Gold Star members receive two tuneups per year as part of their membership. Not a member? No problem! We can still schedule you a tuneup at any time!
Always check the air filter first if you suspect restricted airflow — it’s one of the most-forgotten home maintenance tasks, and you’ll often find that simply sticking to a regular schedule of switching yours out will have your home feeling noticeably cooler in no time.
Your Outside Unit is No Longer Receiving Electricity
Your home heating and cooling system is generally made up of two main components — an outdoor unit connected to an indoor unit. The unit inside your home houses the actual fan that blows air to your vents, but this only really works if the outdoor unit does. If electricity is no longer making it to your outdoor unit, the air simply cannot cool.
Check your fuse box or circuit breaker and see if a fuse has blown or a circuit has been tripped. Whether or not this seems to be the case, it’s essential to call in a professional. Even if the fix seems to be simply resetting your circuit breaker, your HVAC should never cause a fuse to blow or breaker to trip. If it does, that’s almost certainly indicative of a larger problem that requires professional attention.
Other Possible Issues
A/C units blowing hot or warm air may also indicate an issue with the compressor, or even a leak in your HVAC’s refrigerant. We’ve spoken before about the possibility of refrigerant leaks causing long-term issues. Broken or disconnected return ducts can also cause a similar problem, as that results in uncooled air being pulled in from outside as opposed to going through the cooling process. In both cases, you’ll need to call in a technician for help.
Is Your Home A/C Blowing Hot Air? Give Us a Call!
Don’t let yourself swelter while trying to do-it-yourself. Give us a call at Donnelly’s Plumbing Heating and Cooling! We have over forty years of experience working with our local communities here in Chester, Bucks, Montgomery, and Delaware counties and it’s our mission to keep your family comfortable all year long! We’re happy to send our friendly, experienced technicians out to take a look and let you know what steps to take next — plus we price by the project, so we can ensure you’ll know the cost before repairs even begin. Reach us by phone at [hls_phone_number] or contact us online at any time to schedule service!
