Short Cycling Requires an Air Conditioning Repair Service
With the arrival of spring, your air conditioner is going to see increasing use, and just a few short weeks from now, you’ll likely be running it all day every day to fight our high Texas heat. That means now is the time to check your system for any significant problems it may be experiencing. Doing so means you can address the problem before the weather turns too hot: saving you money and effort in the process.
One sure-fire way to check for trouble is to schedule a service session with a trained technician. But you yourself can often determine if something is wrong with your system simply by observing abnormal behavior. And one of the easiest things to check for is a process known as short cycling. If you spot it, you need to call a repair service immediately.
What Is It?
Short cycling is simply the habit of the air conditioner turning on, running for a short time and then turning off again, only to turn on a short while later as the heat of the day warms the home. It can be disconcerting to listen too, but also very subtle depending on the specifics of your air conditioner. Either way, it spells trouble for your system.
Air conditioners use far more energy turning on and turning off than they do simply running. Getting the fan motor, pumps and other components up to speed involves a lot of friction on moving parts, as well as a surge of electrical power to get everything up and running. The same principle holds true when the system turns off. Once the system is up to speed, it uses much less energy to keep it there.
Accordingly, you want your air conditioning system to run for at least 15 minutes at a time in order to achieve maximum efficiency. When short cycling occurs, that efficiency is lost. The system is undergoing an inordinate amount of strain, and will ultimately result in more serious breakdowns far more often than it should.
What Causes It?
In some cases, short cycling can be caused by another, very specific problem, that a repair technician can catch and address. For example, some systems may have a component that is overheating, and the system repeatedly turns off to prevent an overload or a fire. Repairing or replacing the component should correct the short cycling and solve the problem.
Unfortunately, some example of short cycling aren’t caused by a malfunctioning component, but by the simple face that the air conditioner is too powerful for the space it is cooling. A technician can make some suggestions to mitigate the effect, but you may need to install an entirely new air conditioner to fix the problem properly.
Either way, if you detect short cycling in your system, you should not waste any time. Turn off your air conditioner and call in a repair service immediately.
For air conditioning repair in Carrollton, TX, call on the friendly professionals at Frymire Home Services today.
