Checking an AC Unit

Air conditioning units and HVAC units don’t last forever 10 years is an average lifespan and the moment they fail is usually when you need them the most. If you can hear your Las Vegas air conditioning unit running, but it doesn’t cool well, make sure nothing is blocking or limiting air flow anywhere in the system which is the air filters, registers, and the compressor.

How to Check the Indoor Air Handler

Turn off the power to the air conditioning air handler or furnace. If the air handler is a gas furnace, turn off the gas at the gas valve that serves the furnace. Remove the door on the front of the air-handler cabinet so you can access the filter. Pull out the filter and clean or replace it as necessary. Look for ice. If you see ice in the area around the coils, close the unit back up, turn the power back on, and turn on the fan. The ice should melt within an hour or two.

Only two things cause an AC air handler to freeze up:

1. Reduced air flow because of dirty filters, coils, or poorly working fans, and
2. Low refrigerant level, which a pro must check and, if necessary, recharge. More often than not, the problem comes from reduced air flow.

Clear the Condensate Drain

Air condition unit can create a lot of water because they remove moisture from the air. To get rid of this, they have a [usually plastic] drain pipe that comes out of the side of the air handler. Over time, algae can block this pipe and, when it does, the AC won’t work. In fact, some condensate drains have a float switch that won’t let the AC run if water backs-up. Water can also puddle around the unit or flood the area.

Make sure the compressor is working

When you set the thermostat to a temperature below the room temperature, you should hear the outdoor compressor run and see the fan turning inside the top. If the fan isn’t turning, look for an overload button or switch to reset (not all types have this). Stick a screwdriver or stick down through the top grille and try to spin the fan blades clockwise. They should spin freely. If doing this gives the fan enough of a boost to get it going, the unit has a faulty capacitor that must be replaced.

Air Conditioner Not Blowing Air

If your Las Vegas air conditioning unit doesn’t go on at all when you set the thermostat for a cooler-than-room temperature, either read or study about handling electrical trouble shooting in an air conditioning unit. If you have fairly good DIY skills and a millimetre, go through the diagnostic steps to determine whether the problem may be a condensate pump switch.

The good news is that not every system malfunction spells total doom. Many nuisances are so cheap and easy to fix, you’ll kick yourself for not doing them sooner.

How Air Conditioning System Works

Air conditioning system essentially has four parts: an evaporator, a compressor, a condenser and an expansion device.

The part inside the home where the refrigerant evaporates is the evaporator, naturally. Fans in the home blow air across the evaporator's coils. The cooling fluid reaches the compressor as a low-pressure gas. The compressor squeezes this gas/fluid, and the molecules in the liquid are packed closer together. The closer the compressor forces these molecules together, the higher the temperature and energy rise. This working fluid exits the compressor as a high-pressure, hot gas, and it moves to the condenser. The outside unit of an air conditioning system has metal fins all around the housing. These fins work like the radiator on a vehicle, and they help dissipate heat more quickly.

As air from the house moves across the evaporator, refrigerant within the coil picks up the temperature of the air. The refrigerant is absorbing heat from the air and turns from a liquid to a vapor. It went from being a cold liquid to a hotter vapor, and at the same time, the air had heat removed from it, so the air went from being warmer to colder.

Indoor Air Conditioning Unit
The indoor unit is typically located in a closet or basement, and is near where your furnace filter is located. The unit consists of a coil box that contains what is called an evaporator.  The evaporator allows for the refrigerant a cooling fluid inside the coil piping or to evaporate and absorb heat. Once the heat is absorbed from inside your home, it leaves nothing but cool air to be sent back into your home.

Just as water absorbs heat from your stove in order to boil (or evaporate) refrigerant absorbs heat from your house. This means that both water and refrigerant turn from liquid to vapor as they absorb heat.

Outdoor Air Conditioning Unit
The outdoor unit is usually located in the rear or side of your house and it is where the heat from inside your home is dispersed. It contains the compressor, condenser coil and a fan. The heat absorbed from your home’s air is transferred to the refrigerant and then pumped to the outdoor unit. As this heat is absorbed and moved by the refrigerant to the outdoor coil, it passes through the compressor.

The compressor in your Las Vegas air conditioning system has the primary job of moving the refrigerant throughout the system. This is important as we can then keep reusing the refrigerant to cool our house. The refrigerant is compressed to a higher pressure, and moved through the outdoor coil known as the condenser. As the refrigerant passes through the condenser, a fan delivers ambient air across the condenser coil causing it to cool.

As the process completes, the heat from inside your house is dispersed to the air outside your house. The refrigerant is then pumped back indoors and the whole process repeats.

The entire process of making the air in your property a comfortable temperature is based on a very simple scientific principle, and the rest is achieved by mechanical means.