Air Conditioner Problems - Air Conditioning Troubleshooting

HVAC (heating, ventilating, and air conditioning) units count on air flow to function at maximum efficiency.  There are a few things that could affect the air flow and make it less than adequate, but there are a number of things that homeowners can do to restore air flow to their HVAC systems.  These things include the filters and keeping them clean so that the air flow is unobstructed.    Should you choose not to maintain your system, it will continue to use the same power, yet it does less work, so it remains on longer to get its job done and that in turn costs you more money.  You end up wasting a lot of your money; to avoid that, follow these tips for keeping your unit maintained by paying attention to the most common air flow problems. 

If your registers are in the floor, it isn’t unheard of for construction debris, carpet fibers or pads, even toys, to fall into your air ducts.  Smaller items can usually be easily removed, but larger ones can give you more of a problem; sometimes and the solution would be to detach the duct from the register from underneath the floor or the other side of the wall to get to the object. 

There may be something obstructing adequate air flow because a register has something sitting over it.  It could be furniture, home décor items, or even curtains or drapes.  You may not have even realized that a register is being closed off due to this issue.  Another issue could be that the air is flowing well through the register but it’s going the wrong way.  This issue can easily be resolved with the addition of a plastic deflector to better aim the air flow.  Sometimes all it takes is simply turning the register around. 

If the joints of the ducts are too loose and air is escaping, you’ll definitely loose air flow to the home and it’ll run very inefficiently.  Correcting this problem can be easy.  Use aluminum tape, not duct tape, and make sure that you wear a mask to protect yourself from breathing in all of the dust you’ll encounter. 

You can use an air/jet spray to get rid of debris and buildup on the fins by removing the outer cover from the condenser unit.  If you’re not sure if an adequate amount of air is getting through, you may want to get the system inspected by a professional to be sure. 

If you have a closed off room, your forced air system can’t heat that room.  If you crack the door open or make sure there’s enough room under the door (you may have to shave an inch or two off the bottom of the door), then you’ll have a gap for air to move through.  You can install louvers, but it’s not cheap or easy to do so.  If you must keep a room closed off, then your best bet may be to consider a portable heater or air conditioning unit. 

The issue of inadequate air flow could be that there are too many bends in the ductwork; air would have a hard time passing through it all. When air has to pass through a “maze” of ducts, you end up getting less air, and the air that you do get will cost you more due to the fact that your HVAC unit has to work that much harder to push the air through the maze. If changing the ductwork is not a possibility for you, you may want to think about a portable heater or air conditioner and just closing off the maze-like ductwork completely – that’s how inefficient all those bends can be.