The most likely time for your air conditioning unit to break down is on the hottest day of the year. Of course, the hotter the day the harder the unit has to work. But, that’s not the only reason the unit breaks down.  You can experience issues when your air conditioner hasn’t been maintained properly or simply because the unit is getting old. 

While it may be time to book a service visit or perhaps talk to your local air conditioning sales firm, it’s also a good idea to know the most effective troubleshooting tips. 

1. Check Your Thermostat

Your thermostat controls when the air conditioning clicks on and off. It’s designed to make sure your room or house is the perfect temperature. But, if the thermostat is set wrong or faulty, you’ll find it’s too hot or too cold. 

Adjusting the thermostat should result in a click noise and the air conditioning coming back on. The click represents you moving the thermostat below the current room temperature. You can verify how accurate the thermostat temperature is with a thermometer. 

2. Have Your Got Power

It may sound daft but if your air conditioning isn’t working you should check your power. It could be that power is out to the whole building or that just the air conditioning circuit has a fault on it.

Check this is power in the building and power to the unit. This can be a very simply fix. 

3. Check & Replace The Air Filter

The air filter does exactly what you think it does, it filters the air as it enters the building. This ensures clean air goes through the unit and pollutants are caught by the filter. Unfortunately, the fact that it catches all the debris means that it can easily be partially or completely blocked. 

If this happens the airflow will be reduced, preventing the unit from cooling any space properly. Remove it and even clean it or replace it. 

4. Look At The Air Ducts

The air comes into your building through an air duct and should be pumped around the building through ducts. This is the most efficient technique to help ensure you can regulate the temperature in every room. 

However, just as the filter can become blocked with debris, so can the vents. Its worth taking a look at them and making sure they are all clear.

At the same time you should verify that the ducts are clean. Mold in the ducts may not affect the ability of the air conditioner to cool the building. But, it will be blown through the property and can be detrimental to your health.

5. Check For Leaks

An air conditioning unit uses a special fluid in the cooling pipes. This absorbs the heat from the air. However, it’s possible that the system develops a leak, quickly reducing its ability to cool the air. In most cases there is nothing you can do about the leak, this is a job for the air conditioning technician. But, it’s good to look and identify the issue.