We love our air conditioners, but we only want them to run as often as it takes to keep our homes at a comfortable temperature level. That’s because the more your air conditioner runs, the more energy it will consume and the higher your electricity bills will be at the end of the month. That’s not to mention the excess wear and tear it can put on your system over the years. So to help you solve this problem, today we’re going to look at 7 possible reasons why your air conditioner is running constantly!
7 reasons why your air conditioner might be running constantly
- 1. a very hot day. Air conditioners are powerful, but they can only cool your home down to a specific temperature difference between indoors and outside. So on a very hot day in the Bay Area, your air conditioner might be running constantly simply because it’s the only thing it can do to try and keep your home comfortable.
- 2. Your thermostat setting is too low. Given what we just said above, you can understand why your air conditioner will have to run nearly all the time if you set your indoor temperature level too low. Check out our recommended thermostat settings for summer!
- 3. Undersized air conditioner. If your air conditioner was not sized properly by a qualified contractor, or if you recently added an addition to your home, your air conditioner might not be powerful enough to adequately cool your home. As a result, it will have to run constantly to try and keep up with your home’s cooling demands.
- 4. Aging air conditioner. Air conditioners will typically last 15-20 years, but once they hit the 10 year mark you might start to experience performance losses with your system. This is a natural thing to happen over time, and a new system will run much less frequently.
- 5. Air filter is clogged. If your filter is clogged, or if your system is experiencing any other airflow issues, cool air will not be effectively delivered to your home. So even though your air conditioner is working hard, your home’s temperature levels will take a long time to cool down.
- 6. Dirty or frozen coils. Air is blown over your indoor and outdoor coils in order to remove heat from your home. If there is dirt buildup on these coils, or if they freeze over, your air conditioner will have a much harder time cooling your home and will have to run more often.
- 7. Low refrigerant. Refrigerant is what runs through your A/C coils and moves heat out of your home. If your system has a refrigerant leak, it will not have enough refrigerant to perform that task and your system will have to constantly run.
If you have any questions about why your air conditioner is running constantly, or if you’d like a cooling system serviced or installed in your home, contact Cabrillo, your Bay Area plumbing, heating and air conditioning contractor.