People around the world are going to be experiencing summers, the intensity of these locations might vary but these indeed are tough times. Experiencing your summers without the comfort of air conditioners can be real torture and if you already have one unit at your place and it isn’t in working condition then the panicking syndrome kicks in.
Imagine this situation at first, you’re at your house or the workplace, the temperature outside is really unbearable and suddenly the air conditioner unit breaks down. Humidity levels rise to outstanding levels and you start sweating like crazy. That is a very nightmarish scenario, although we are here to provide knowledge about these problems and how you can identify-solve them immediately.
A helpful tip over here would be to switch off the air conditioner unit completely after use, you don’t want it working overtime and resulting in excessive electricity bills.
What Are AC Capacitors?
In order to identify the problem effectively, you need to have crystal clear information about your air conditioners, so we are going to start with capacitors. If you need to understand electrical machines which have motors in them, then know this that almost every motor machine out there would have a capacitor in them.
Think of capacitors as batteries, they store the power and if they are working properly they would send the electrical currents to the air conditioners motor and there you go! The unit would be functioning properly but if there are problems in the capacitor then the air conditioner won’t even be able to even start.
These capacitors work as power flows for your air conditioners, firstly they provide the energy required for the unit to start and then they just keep the flow steady and continuous so that it keeps on working. These are very important components and you need to make sure that they are always in working order.
Now that we know what air conditioner capacitors are, let us take a look on how you can diagnose if they stop working.
Usual Faulty AC Capacitor Symptoms
If you are at your workplace or at the comfort of your house then with the help of the information we would provide, can do a full diagnose on your air conditioner unit and know whether if it’s in working condition or not.
The Air Conditioner Would Not Be Blowing Cold Air
As we discussed that capacitors are the main power suppliers of air conditioners, if they are not working properly then the unit won’t be blowing cold air, it would just be normal air. What you can do here would be to turn your unit off and on again and if the problem still persists then you need to call in your HVAC technicians. They will thoroughly take a look on the problem.
Ever-High Electricity Bills
If you seem to notice that your electricity bills are rising more than they actually should and your air conditioners performance is also being demeaning then it could be an accurate sign that your AC capacitor has failed. Whenever air conditioners require more power than they actually should perform adequately, electricity bills rise immensely.
This is a sign that your AC capacitor needs a visit from the HVAC technician.
Emitting Strange Humming Noises
Air conditioners are normally noiseless, you won’t hear noises when you operate them. Although if you do happen to hear some weird noises like humming or clanking, it could indicate a damaged or faulty capacitor which you would have to ultimately change or repair.
Your HVAC Unit is Very Ancient
If you happen to have a very old HVAC unit then there could be chances that the capacitor working inside it has been outdated or is seemingly not in working condition, when this happens you need to make sure to get that capacitor changed.
The Air Conditioner Turns Off On Its Own
As the capacitors the main job is to supply your air conditioner with a steady flow of energy, it not working properly would indicate that the air conditioner is powering off on its own. When this happens, make sure to contact your HVAC contractors as soon as possible.
The Air Conditioner Takes Some Time Turning On
Air conditioners operations are very much seamless, they turn on almost immediately at the press of a button, and the power transition is of seconds. If you notice that your air conditioner unit is taking some extra time to get started then this could indicate that the power capacitor has failed working or has been outdated.
The Air Conditioner Doesn’t Actually Turn On
If your air conditioner doesn’t even turn on completely, then you need to know that behind this power failure is the capacitor. Capacitors are solely responsible for transferring power to the unit’s motor, and if they fail to do so then this indicates that they are not performing their functions properly.
How To Diagnose The Air Conditioner Capacitor
Now that you know the symptoms of a faulty air conditioner capacitor, you can actually diagnose the capacitor to see if the problem is too severe or not.
Firstly you need to check the actual voltage of your capacitor and for this you would be needing a multi-meter, this is a device which accurately portrays how much electricity the capacitor is generating and then cross-reference it with the voltage the unit actually requires.
If you see that the capacitor is not producing any sort of electrical charge then you would have to call in your HVAC technicians and buy a new capacitor from the hardware store.
How To Actually Choose Air Conditioner Capacitors
If you would want to skip the expenses of an HVAC technician or just think that you could fix this issue all by yourself then you need to look out for two things while going out for capacitors.
Those two things are, microfarads and the voltage ratings, note this here that the shapes and sizes of capacitors don’t matter at all, as long as you have these criteria. Syncing your voltage rating to the air conditioner unit is not that much necessary but doing it for the microfarad is very important. Just check if the numbers are the same on the microfarad and your unit, once the match has been made, you can easily make the replacement.
Conclusion
With the help of our guide, you now know what actually happens when your air conditioner capacitors go faulty and what you could do to fix the whole situation. Although it should be noted then whenever problems like these occur, for safety and insurance purposes, it is best to always call in the professionals.
