During the hot summer months, most homeowners don’t expect to find ice on their air conditioning unit. Unfortunately, this issue is more common than you might think, and having ice on the AC is a sure sign that something’s not right. Reviewing the likely causes can help you get the equipment back to its normal working state.
Problems with AC Ice
Once you notice that there’s ice on the unit, you need to turn the AC off. This can help prevent the situation from getting worse. Assuming it’s warm outside, this will help get the ice to melt, too. Let the unit thaw completely, then work through these different scenarios to identify the underlying cause.
1. Poor Airflow
If you’re lucky, the ice on the AC is the result of a more minor issue. After the ice has thawed, the first thing to do is to check is the air filter. Sometimes ice can form on air conditioners when there is poor airflow, so replacing the old air filter with a new one might be all it takes to get the unit running smoothly again.
Reducing airflow over the evaporator coil can then cause the equipment’s temperature to drop below freezing
One of the problems with dirty filters is that they put more stress on the evaporator coil. Reducing airflow over the evaporator coil can then cause the equipment’s temperature to drop below freezing. Consequently, the humidity will start to collect around the AC and turn into ice.
Hopefully, a new air filter will be enough to remedy the situation. To test this, wait for the ice to melt and then turn the air conditioner on again to see if the ice returns. If it doesn’t—then you’re all set. But if the ice comes back, there might be another problem.
2. Dirty Evaporator Coil
When ice forms even with a new air filter, you might be dealing with a dirty evaporator coil. This can happen with older units or AC equipment that hasn’t had regular maintenance.
In this case, you’ll want to turn the equipment off again and call on an expert to come to clean the evaporator coil. Unfortunately, this isn’t something that homeowners can do on their own. The process requires a tech to fully remove the indoor coil to clean it, before re-installing.
Continuing to run the AC unit when this part isn’t working properly can cause a chain reaction of other issues. Rather than risk damage to the compressor or other AC parts, it’s best to call the local HVAC company to take a closer look. Odds are, they’ll be able to remedy the situation pretty quickly by either cleaning the evaporator coil. Otherwise, they might have to take a look at the refrigerant levels.
3. Low Refrigerant
Systems that have low refrigerant aren’t able to keep the evaporator coil within the proper temperature ranges Systems that have low refrigerant aren’t able to keep the evaporator coil within the proper temperature ranges. If you have an issue with the refrigerant—and not the coil itself—the AC unit probably has a leak.
Simply topping off the refrigerant isn’t usually enough to fix the issue. In fact, if you just add refrigerant without testing for a leak first, you might just be wasting money. Depending on the leak size, it could take several months or just a couple of days to have the problem come back. So, it’s a risk. (Plus, companies don’t provide a warranty on refrigerants, especially without a leak search and repair.)
For these reasons, it’s important for the HVAC technician to check for leaks whenever the refrigerant levels are low. If the tech can find the leak and repair it, you’ll be able to avoid other costly replacement parts. A detailed review of the system can help you figure out what’s wrong.
4. Broken Motors
The last reason you might have ice on the AC unit is if a blower motor or the fan motor is going out. These issues can also cause the system to freeze up due to restricted airflow. (Though this is different than poor airflow just from a dirty filter.) As with dirty evaporator coils and refrigerant leaks, if the motor has gone out, you’ll need an HVAC tech to come by for some repairs.
Time for AC Repair?
The ice on the AC is just the result of poor airflow from a dirty filter and more complicated, the team will make it right As soon as you realize that there’s ice on the AC unit, remember to turn the system off. Continuing to use the home’s air conditioning can just make matters worse. Replace the air filter as the ice thaws. That way, if the ice returns, you’ll know you need to call the local HVAC company to take a peek inside the unit.
If you’re located around the Indianapolis area, know that the team at LCS Heating and Cooling has got the back. LCS is here to help you out whenever you notice issues with the AC in the summertime. Hopefully, the ice on the AC is just the result of poor airflow from a dirty filter. But if the problem is more complicated, the team will make it right.
LCS knows HVAC repairs can be annoying to deal with, but the expertise can get the home back to normal without too much downtime. For any questions about the air conditioner repairs and other functions, just call LCS Heating and Cooling.
