Proper air flow is one of the most critical things your air conditioner needs to do its job properly. Are you experiencing the following symptoms of air conditioning problems? If so, you’ve probably got air flow issues. Read on for more information about what to do and how to prevent AC failure.

Symptoms of air conditioning problems caused by poor air flow:

  • Not enough air coming from the registers. If you put your hand in front of your air conditioning registers and feel barely a trickle of cool air coming out, there’s definitely an air flow problem.
  • System is blowing warm air. Even worse than not enough cold air, you might actually feel warm air coming out of the registers.
  • Unbalanced pressure. If you experience odd unexplained symptoms like doors opening and slamming all by themselves, whistling noises and random drafts of air, you might think you have a resident ghost. In reality these symptoms are caused by unbalanced air pressure, which can happen as a result of air flow issues.
  • Hot and cold spots. Are some rooms too warm while others are freezing? Temperature variance is another common symptom of air conditioner problems caused by inadequate air flow.
  • Equipment failure. When air flow issues are neglected for too long, the strain on the system can lead to compressor failure. The compressor is the heart of the system and an expensive part to replace. If it fails, there’s a good chance you’re going to need a new air conditioner.
  • Clogged filter. The air filter’s job is to keep dust and debris out of your HVAC equipment. You’d be amazed how much builds up on there in a very short time. Just think about the smog in Manhattan and the dust your cleaning staff picks up every day. Imagine how much grime would accumulate if you didn’t clean for a month. That’s how much debris is clogging your air filter, and much more if you haven’t done it in a while. When that dust builds up inside the air conditioner, it causes wear and tear on the parts. And the clogged filter prevents enough air from flowing through the system to keep it working properly.
  • Fan issues. Your air conditioner has a fan that blows the air from your space over the evaporator coils to remove heat, and another fan that blows outside air over the condenser coils to help expel the collected heat outside the building. If either of those fans gets covered with debris (which can happen if the air filter is clogged, or if you’ve neglected maintenance) the fan speed slows down. Or you could have a fan motor that needs replacing. In either case, the inadequate air flow makes it harder for the system to remove heat and humidity from your space.
  • Leaky ducts. You’re spending a lot of money for cooled air, so the last thing you want to do is let it get wasted. Isn’t that why you’re always telling people to keep the doors and windows closed? Yet that’s what happens when you have holes and breaks in your ducts. Your expensive cooled air leaks into the crawl spaces and never makes it to the occupied areas of your space.
  • Inadequate ventilation. Have you recently replaced your air conditioner, or rearranged your space without updating the ventilation system? If so, your ducts may be too small to handle the volume of air being pushed from your new air conditioner. Or they may be incorrectly located for the new layout. Another problem is poorly designed ductwork with runs that are too long to carry the air to the space to be cooled.
  • Blocked vents. Do you have air temperature battles going on in your office? If workers are cold and frustrated enough to take matters into their own hands, they’ll use all kinds of creative ways to block the vents and prevent cold air from blowing in their cubicle or office. Unfortunately, this creates a strain and an imbalance in the system that can lead to temperature fluctuations all over the space.

Believe it or not, there’s some good news here. Many of the causes of poor air flow that lead to air conditioning problems can be fixed with HVAC preventive maintenance. Contact us today for a customized preventative maintenance quote to improve your buildings air flow and keep cost down.