AC Not Cooling; It must be Broken? Or is it Something Else?

Learn practical steps to diagnose your AC unit before calling a technician, how to identify false alarms, and why patience is crucial during peak heat. Perfect for Ottawa and Cornwall residents, this post also offers tips on maintaining optimal airflow and when to seek professional help.

Quality Heating

5/24/20243 min read

Introduction

The hot weather has finally arrived in Eastern Ontario, hitting intensely. One moment it's a manageable 15°C, and suddenly, it spikes to a scorching 37°C. During these abrupt heat waves, many residents in the Ottawa and Cornwall areas rush to start their AC units. Unfortunately, not all units function properly; some fail to start at all. These failures are often due to mechanical issues within the unit, commonly involving a burnt-out capacitor or condenser motor. I won’t go into the specific diagnostics of these failures here.

However, what should you consider if the AC unit turns on and seems to run properly, yet the indoor temperature remains uncomfortably high? Let’s look into potential reasons why your AC might not be effectively cooling your space.

In this blog post, I'll go over what you should check before calling an AC technician.

First, check your AC unit to make sure you don’t see any freezing on the AC coil. You’ll know this by going down to the furnace room and looking at the top part of your furnace where the hoses come out of the coil. Plenum ductwork. If you see ice forming, that is not normal, and you might want to call someone.

However, if everything looks normal, then quickly check your furnace filter. You’d be surprised at how many service calls are caused by simply not changing the furnace filter.

If the furnace filter looks dirty, change it. I would recommend going down to a Merv 8 or even a Merv 4 for the summer months.

But let's assume that you have checked your filter and it looks good. And yet, the place is still not cooling down.

It's definitely a good idea to check around the unit and even go outside to see if you see any signs of leaking.

Caution:

Now this is where it can get a little confusing. Just because you notice wetness outside on your lines does not mean that you have a leak. It can be tempting to assume you have a leak because, let’s be honest, if you have an older unit and rust is covering your unit's parts, you may assume you have a problem when in reality, you don’t. Surprisingly, AC units outside are made to take a beating. I mean a real beating. Most units should be able to absorb the harsh Canadian winters without an AC cover, and furthermore, can absorb a heavy amount of rain and hail in the summer. So, just because your unit is showing signs of rust, that in itself is not an indicator of the condition going on inside the parts.

Now, if you do notice a large sum of water and it has a funny smell to it, for sure contact an AC technician. But in our scenario, even though we see some water outside on the lines, we know this water to simply be condensation. So the question that you have is now what? My place is still not cooling down.

Drum Roll:

Okay, drum roll please, let me ask you this question. When did you turn the AC on? Did you just turn the AC on during a heat wave an hour, two hours, 3 hours, 6 hours ago? How big is your home?

Ladies and gentlemen, the facts are the facts. Being patient can go a long way. That is correct, patience is the problem here, not your AC. Your home's humidity, which is warm, needs to be removed from your home; that means the heat from your floors, your doors, your walls, your kitchen, your bedrooms, everywhere needs to be cooled down, and whether we like it or not, this takes time, especially in hot weather.

There is no point in keep pushing down the thermostat in order to make the unit cool faster. For starts, dialing down the thermostat won’t make the unit cool any faster. The best thing to do is to just set the thermostat to your ideal temperature and just walk away. Don’t look at it, just let it do its thing. If the unit is working, it will bring the temperature down. Just like steering a big boat, the ship will eventually start to turn.

Final thoughts

One last thought. Airflow is a key weapon in making your place cooler. This means whatever you can do to help make this happen is going to be beneficial to you. AC coils should be clean, ductwork should be clean. You should want as little obstruction standing in the way of your cool air coming out of your vents.

Having your ducts cleaned and AC coil cleaned by Quality Heating in the Ottawa, Cornwall area can help you out.

My last advice: If you have the windows open on a day that is not terribly hot, and then the next day a heat wave hits your place, here is my advice: have some patience. Close the windows, set the thermostat, and let the AC do its thing. Only after a full day has passed, and if your house still seems like a sweatbox, then contact an AC technician to come by and take a look, and be sure to make sure your ducts are clean.

AC Not Cooling; It must be Broken? Or is it Something Else?