Why Is My Central AC Not Blowing Cold Air and How Do I Solve It?

If you never skip regular maintenance to your air conditioner, the unit should be working properly. On the other hand, failing to maintain your AC unit may trigger various problems with its performance. One of them is that your central AC may stop blowing cold air. Here are some reasons why this could happen:

Dirty Air Filter

This is the most common reason for a central AC not blowing cold air. When your air filter has dirt buildup on it, the cold air won’t be able to flow through. Hence, your room will not be optimally chilled. If this is the case, you need to replace your air filter with a new, clean one. Make sure to do this every six months.

Dirty Condenser

Located outdoors, the AC condenser unit is easily forgettable. Unfortunately, the unit may also get dirt buildup, which may cause your AC unit to be inefficient and perform poorly. What you need to do is walk outside and take a look at the unit. If it is dirty, clean up the debris. The condenser coils should be clean too. You can wash them gently with water and soap, if necessary.

Refrigerant Leak

A leak in the refrigerant pipe may cause the freon level to decrease. With too little refrigerant, your AC will not be able to absorb heat optimally, resulting in a failure to decrease the air temperature. If this is the case, call a professional technician because fixing a refrigerant leak is not something you can D.I.Y.

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Wrong Sized Unit

If your central AC unit hasn’t been able to blow cold air since the first time you installed it, then chances are your AC is the wrong size for your room. The room is probably too big for your AC’s capability, resulting in not-so-cold indoor air. In this case, you need to have your AC recalculated by a professional HVAC company. If the AC is indeed undersized, it might cost you a lot of money to resolve this problem.

Broken Component

Just because your AC is on doesn’t mean every component in it works as it should. For example, if the fan motor breaks, your AC will continue working without blowing out the chilled air. Another possibility is a damaged compressor, which prevents the unit from releasing heat outside. Hence, the heat will return to your room. Here, what you need to do is get a total inspection from your technician. Damaged components might need replacement. But if it is the compressor that is broken, you might need a whole new AC unit.

Incorrect Thermostat Setting

If your AC is well-maintained, yet it’s not blowing cold air, then maybe your thermostat is on the wrong setting. Maybe it is still in “Auto” mode, or maybe you set the temperature too high. If this is the problem, you simply need to reset it to the right level and turn it on. The problems that may have caused your central AC unit to not blow cold air are mostly solvable. But after that, bear in mind that you need to start performing regular maintenance on your AC at least twice a year. If your AC keeps having this problem even if you are taking good care of it, there is a chance that your unit needs a total replacement.