At ServiceMax, we offer a wide range of services for our customers. We’re both an electrical and HVAC contractor for Wilmette, IL and the rest of Chicagoland. This puts us in the special position of understanding the electrical issues that may affect an air conditioning system during the summer. That’s good news—because electrical malfunctions are the most common type in air conditioners. It only takes a few wiring glitches in your home’s AC to turn a pleasant summer day indoors into a sweatbox!
How an Electrical Problem Can Harm Your Cooling
An air conditioner is an electrically powered appliance. (It doesn’t run on refrigerant! Refrigerant is a circulating chemical blend used for heat transference to cool down a space, but the power to move the refrigerant around the system comes from the electrical motor powering the compressor.) There are numerous components that draw on electricity, most critically the motors for the indoor blower fan, the outdoor fan, and the compressor. Electrical trouble in any of these components can lower cooling power and often bring it to a complete halt.
Tripped Circuit Breakers
If your air conditioner shuts down suddenly because of a tripped circuit breaker, it often means the motor for the blower fan is placing too much voltage demand on the circuit. The trouble could be as simple as a clogged air filter. (Reminder: change the filter every 1 to 3 months.) But it could also be a short in the motor. Another possibility is the issue isn’t with the AC but the circuit breaker panel itself. This is why we’re a great choice to handle your cooling problems: we’re licensed to work on your electrical panel, something most HVAC contractors aren’t.
Failed Capacitors
Capacitors are basic electrical parts for an AC. They’re responsible for holding an electrical charge and then sending it to a motor to start it and keep it running, depending on the capacitor type. Capacitors can start losing their ability to hold an electrical charge, leading to an AC that’s “hard starting.” Our technicians can put in new capacitors to fix this.
Bad Connections
When you arrange for AC maintenance service each spring (it’s still not too late to schedule yours!), one of the tasks the technicians do is to check and tighten the electrical connections and make sure there is no corrosion on them. Loose connections are one of the basic air conditioning problems that are easy to avoid thanks to diligent maintenance.
Compressor Concerns
The compressor is the hardest-working part of the AC. That’s because it is the literal heart of the system: the place where energy is transferred to the refrigerant so it circulates through the rest of the system. The motor that powers the compressor undergoes a great deal of stress, and it if burns out, it can mean needing to replace the whole compressor—and it’s often more cost-effective to just replace the AC. If you notice signs of the compressor struggling to start or hear screeching noises from the outdoor cabinet, call for HVAC experts right away to see if the compressor motor and the compressor can be rescued.
Act fast and contact ServiceMax when you have a faulty AC. We provide air conditioning services in Chicagoland.