How to Make your Air Conditioner Colder

If the air from your cooling system doesn’t seem cold enough, you may worry that your AC is failing. Fortunately, there are some simple possibilities that may be able to provide quick improvement in the temperature of the airstream. Restricted airflow and low refrigerant levels are common sources of poor cooling with an AC unit, and in many cases, these can be corrected easily by HVAC professionals.

Facilitating Heat Exchange

It may sound strange, but heat exchange is the process that enables the air in your home to get cold. Refrigerant responds to pressure changes by getting hot or cold. Under pressure, it gets hot, and when it expands, the material gets extremely cold. Refrigerant moves through lines and coils inside and outside of your home, being compressed outside and expanding inside.

After the refrigerant in your indoor coils expands and cools, it absorbs heat from the surrounding air. The air, in turn, gets cold. Anything that inhibits this heat transfer can affect the temperature of the air that will be circulated through your vents and delivered to various parts of the home.

Low Refrigerant Levels

An HVAC professional can check your refrigerant charge to determine if the level is too low. An undercharge of approximately 10 percent can cause an increase in air conditioner energy usage of up to 20 percent. Additionally, low refrigerant may signal a leak in the lines that requires correction. In some cases, there may be blockages or other problems with refrigerant lines. If the problems aren’t corrected, poor cooling levels will continue to be a problem. You could also eventually experience frozen expansion coils and undue wear on your compressor, much more serious repair concerns.

Refrigerant replacement isn’t a DIY project. HVAC professionals are trained in the proper handling of this material. Supplies for home cooling systems aren’t generally available to the public, making it important to work with an expert.

Restricted Airflow

Poor movement of air can also affect the temperature in your home. Dirty parts are primary sources of trouble. If the air pressure in each room is poor when your AC operates, then you can begin with a quick check of the air filter. A clogged air filter plays a big part in facilitating proper airflow, and it is an easy fix.

Dirty coils require a little bit more effort, and the job should be handled by an HVAC technician. As dirt and grime build on your coils, they prevent the heat transfer between your refrigerant and the circulating air. A thorough cleaning can produce remarkable results in delivery of ice cold air and in providing excellent air pressure.

Schedule Preventative Maintenance

If you are concerned that you need to make your air conditioner colder, an AC tune-up is an excellent way to deal with both dirty coils and low refrigerant possibilities. Additionally, technicians from Brennan’s Heating & Air Conditioning will do a thorough inspection of your unit to pinpoint any further issues that may need to be corrected. We recommend this as an annual service to optimize the performance of your system. Contact our Woodbridge, VA team for an appointment.