What to Do When Your AC Doesn’t Start
September 5, 2016
If you’re lucky enough, you’ll never experience the frustration of coming home after a very long day at work only to find your AC dead as a doornail. But if it does happen, and it might for various reasons, there are a couple of things you could do to make sure your AC is indeed broken. You should do these things before calling an AC repair service.
Check the Thermostat
If your AC isn’t cooling your home correctly, it might not be broken at all. The first thing you need to rule out is that the thermostat is properly set – that’s the first thing a repair professional would do. So, check the thermostat to see whether it’s set to a temperature lower than the room temperature. If it’s not, set it to a temperature that’s at least five degrees lower than the current room temperature.
Make Sure the Power is On
This one sounds like a no-brainer – you need to make sure that your AC is actually turned on. But sometimes there might be no power going into the AC at all. There might have been a power surge, and it might have blown a fuse or tripped a circuit breaker. As a homeowner, you should know how to inspect your fuse box for blown fuses. It’s even easier if you have a circuit panel. Your AC might also have its own fuses in their shutoff box – you should check that as well.
Next Steps
If you’re still not getting the performance you need from your AC, there are a couple more things you can do depending on how comfortable you are with some DIY maintenance. You can take a look at the condensation drain line and see if it’s clogged, as this can trip a safety switch that turns off the AC. Just don’t try to flip the switch back on until you’ve unclogged the drain line.
Of course, if none of these steps work, you can always call One Hour Air Conditioning and Heating. We’ll be happy to check your AC, find out what’s wrong with it, and repair it in the shortest time possible.