Maintaining optimal airflow ensures your air conditioning system keeps your home cool during Illinois’s hot summer days. However, issues that restrict air and prevent your unit from distributing it throughout your residence may arise. Unfortunately, many Carol Stream homeowners don’t know what causes weak AC airflow or how to resolve it properly.
That’s why Leith Heating & Cooling put together a few causes of restricted AC airflow and how to fix them so your home remains cool and comfortable all summer.
The professionals at Leith Heating & Cooling are Carol Stream’s air conditioning repair experts. If you want your air conditioner to operate at its highest efficiency level this summer, contact Leith Heating & Cooling.
The Importance of Maintaining Optimal Airflow in Carol Stream, Illinois
Maintaining superb airflow does much more than ensure your residence stays pleasant once summer temperatures set in. It provides several advantages and can even improve your family’s health and well-being. Below are a few reasons maintaining adequate airflow is so important.
Reduces Indoor Air Quality
Failing to keep your air ducts clean and clear can significantly reduce your home’s indoor air quality, leaving your family more prone to various health issues. If anyone in your family has allergies, their symptoms will worsen if you don’t eradicate contaminants from your ductwork. The longer you wait to remove the pollutants, the worse your indoor air quality becomes, leaving you and your loved ones susceptible to respiratory issues and other health problems.
Puts Unnecessary Stress on the System
Weak AC airflow puts additional stress on your air conditioner, causing it to work much harder to maintain your desired indoor climate. This stress can also increase wear and tear within the unit, making it vulnerable to overheating. Heavily restricted airflow can cause the unit to malfunction and break down, leaving your home hot and unpleasant until you fix or replace the offending unit.
Maintaining adequate airflow will reduce your system’s stress levels, ensuring it operates optimally throughout Carol Stream’s hot summer.
Reduces Indoor Comfort
Poor airflow also makes it difficult for your unit to distribute conditioned air throughout your home, making it hard to stay comfortable during scorching summer days. Dust and debris within your duct system will block cool air during transport, causing very little to reach its destination. This can also increase your monthly energy bills, making you pay much more for inadequate cooling.
Four Causes of Weak AC Airflow in Carol Stream, Illinois
Weak AC airflow may arise for several reasons, making pinpointing the problem’s source difficult. However, once you know what to look for, you can identify the issue and take swift action to resolve it. Below are a few common causes of restricted airflow within residential cooling systems.
1. Dirty Air Filters
HVAC air filters catch airborne contaminants that can drastically reduce your home’s indoor air quality. However, they get incredibly filthy over time and can impede airflow, allowing pollutants to taint indoor air. Dirty air filters also enhance unit stress, increasing the chances of overheating while skyrocketing your energy bills.
Replacing your air conditioner’s air filter every month or so will restore airflow and your home’s indoor air quality. It will also keep your energy payments affordable while elevating your system’s efficiency and longevity.
2. Air Duct Clogs and Leaks
Your home’s duct system plays an essential role in distributing air throughout your home’s interior. Clean and clear air ducts will supply cold air to each room swiftly and efficiently, keeping them comfortable during the dog days of summer. However, debris often builds up within residential ductwork, creating troublesome clogs that negatively impact air distribution.
Cleaning your air ducts will eliminate vexing clogs within the ductwork, restoring airflow while reducing unit stress. Ensuring regular cleanings goes a long way in maximizing your air conditioner’s lifespan.
Sometimes, air ducts experience damage that creates leaks, causing cool air to escape before it reaches its destination. The loss of chilled air can adversely affect your home’s interior comfort level until you repair the leaks. Always fix damaged ductwork to prevent and/or resolve leaks before they worsen.
3. Frozen Evaporator Coils
Your air conditioner’s evaporator coils contain refrigerant that cools the air within the system. However, these coils may freeze and restrict air from flowing over them. Several issues can cause your evaporator coils to freeze, but the primary culprits are:
- Dirty air filters
- Overly dirty evaporator coils
- Refrigerant leaks
- Clogged return vents
Fixing these problems will thaw evaporator coils, restore airflow, and improve the unit’s performance. If your system experiences a leak, you may need to contact a professional heating and cooling company to repair it and add more refrigerant.
4. Blower Problems
Air conditioners have an internal blower fan that pushes cool air into the air ducts to disseminate it to your home’s interior. However, when the blower malfunctions, the fan can’t guide the air into the ductwork, restricting airflow. Faulty blower fans are often caused by:
- Excess dust and grime buildup along the fan blades
- A broken or loose blower belt
- A burnt-out blower motor
- Short-circuiting
Always contact a professional technician to resolve these issues and restore the unit’s airflow. Also, regularly cleaning your system will help preserve the blower motor and your air conditioner’s overall performance, so try to make it a habit of doing so.
Contact Leith Heating & Cooling for First-Class Air Conditioning Services in Carol Stream, Illinois
If your HVAC unit breaks down and you experience weak AC airflow, contact Leith Heating & Cooling for outstanding air conditioning repair in Carol Stream. Our team will resolve any airflow issues affecting your unit while taking measures to safeguard it from future issues. Whether your AC unit overheats or just needs a routine tune-up, no job is too big or small for the Leith Heating & Cooling team.
Call Leith Heating & Cooling at (847) 648-9977 or fill out our online form to receive unmatched air conditioning services in Carol Stream, Illinois, today!
