Repair Tips for Central Air Conditioners

Fixing a central air conditioner is no easy task. If you don't know what you're doing, you should certainly enlist the help of an expert. If you don't, then you could be making the problem worse than it already is. Serious problems aside however, there are some things any homeowner can do to fix simple problems that might not necessarily require a professional. Just make sure that before you do anything to your air conditioner, you make sure the power is completely cut off from it. This will keep you from becoming injured while working on the system.

• If you discover that the compressor doesn't turn on, then the first thing you should do is check the breaker box to see if a fuse has blown. If you don't see a blown fuse, then you may want to go ahead and call a professional because the problem could be much more complicated.

• Another common problem with central air conditioners is not blowing cold air when they are turned on. Usually this means that the system is running low on refrigerant. With some units, it's relatively easy to check the refrigerant levels. However, if this isn't something you can do on your own, you can rest assured that this is a relatively easy and inexpensive fix.

• Sometimes you may discover that your central air conditioning unit is not operating to its optimum level of efficiency. This is usually an easy fix if the unit is fairly new. Just check the condenser and the filter. When these parts become covered in dust, the entire unit does not operate as efficiently as it should. Make sure that you change the filter about once a month unless you have a type of filter that requires changing less often. If you just changed the filter and it's already dirty, then you may want to have a professional come and do a thorough cleaning of the system. This will increase the efficiency of the system drastically.

• If the condenser turns on and off repeatedly, then it may turn out that the condenser is dirty or simply blocked. A dirty evaporator can also be the problem. The first thing you should do is go to the outside of your home where the condenser unit is located. Check to make sure that there is no grass or debris blocking it. If there is nothing blocking the condenser, then try simply cleaning the coil and the fins if they're dirty. If they aren't, then check the evaporator and see if it needs to be cleaned.

Keep in mind that the two major components of the air conditioning system (the condenser and the evaporator) are sealed, so anything that requires these seals to be broken and then put back in place should be done by a professional. However, understanding common problems with A/C systems can help you get an idea of how serious (and expensive) the problem is.

Doing regular inspections is one of the most important parts of keeping your air conditioner up and running. You should have a professional come and inspect your system twice per year, once in the fall and again in the spring. This will help simple problems be caught early before they become serious issues.