¿Por qué sale aire caliente de mi aire acondicionado?

Es increíblemente frustrante cuando simplemente no puedes refrescarte en un día caluroso, a pesar de que tu aire acondicionado suena como si estuviera funcionando (está soplando). ¿Eres tú o hace mucho calor aquí? Verifica el termostato y, de hecho, la temperatura está muy por encima de la temperatura establecida. Cuando coloca su mano sobre uno de los registros de CA, encuentra que su CA sopla aire caliente.

¿Que esta pasando? ¿Su aire acondicionado está soplando aire caliente debido a un problema simple que puede solucionar usted mismo o necesita llamar a un profesional?

Siga leyendo para conocer las causas más comunes por las que un aire acondicionado sopla aire caliente y cuáles puede abordar usted mismo.

7 causas comunes por las que el aire acondicionado sopla aire caliente

Su AC está soplando aire caliente porque mientras el ventilador está funcionando, algo está cerrando el mecanismo de enfriamiento. Las causas incluyen cosas simples como la configuración del termostato y el flujo de aire deficiente, pero también pueden ser problemas que pueden significar un gran problema, como problemas eléctricos y fugas de refrigerante.

Comenzaremos con los problemas fáciles que puede solucionar y le avisaremos cuando necesite las habilidades de un profesional para diagnosticar y reparar un problema mayor.

1. Problemas con el termostato

Ya sea que le preocupe que el aire acondicionado de su hogar o lugar de trabajo sople aire caliente, lo primero que debe verificar debe ser el termostato. Es un hecho:son manipulados por niños que accidentalmente los golpean con un objeto volador o por un compañero de trabajo que los apaga porque hace demasiado frío.

Asegúrese de que el termostato esté configurado en FRÍO y el ventilador en AUTO. Y, por supuesto, que la temperatura establecida es en realidad más baja que la temperatura del aire.

2. Un filtro obstruido

El flujo de aire reducido es uno de los problemas más comunes que pueden impedir la operación de enfriamiento de su aire acondicionado. Por extraño que parezca, su aire acondicionado en realidad necesita aire caliente que fluya sobre las bobinas para funcionar correctamente. El filtro de su acondicionador de aire está diseñado para eliminar el polvo y los contaminantes del aire que fluye a través del equipo. Sin embargo, un filtro de aire obstruido con polvo y desechos puede bloquear completamente la entrada de aire al sistema. Cuando eso sucede, las bobinas no pueden eliminar el calor. So your system’s fan just blows heat back into your space.

If you haven’t had your system maintained in a while and your AC is blowing warm air, the next step is to check your air filter, and change it if needed.

Related article:Why and how to change an air filter

3. Return vents closed or blocked

Here’s another air flow issue that can result in your AC blowing warm air. Is it possible that vent grilles were closed over the winter and never re-opened? Or (this is common in offices!) do you have furniture or other obstructions blocking them?

Take a walk around your space and make sure all registers and returns are open and allowing air to flow freely.

4. Disconnected or leaky ducts

It’s also possible that you have air flow problems that you can’t see… in your ducts. If a duct has holes, cracks, or is completely disconnected, return air may not be making it back to the unit. Or cooled supply air may be getting wasted in your walls, attic or crawl space, and the AC is blowing warm air as a result.

If your ducts are accessible, you might want to take a look. It’s not uncommon for damage to occur during construction projects, or from birds or rodents getting into them. On second thought… this might be an area where you’re better off getting professionals to inspect the condition of your ductwork.

Related article:Poor Air Flow from Your AC? Check for Duct Problems

5. Loss of power to the outdoor unit

Many air conditioning systems have an indoor evaporator/air handler unit and and outdoor condensing unit. (In areas like NYC where there’s not much access to outdoor space, your “outdoor” condensing unit may be in a mechanical room). If the air handler is working fine, the fan will still blow air into your space. But without the condenser unit working properly, there will be no cooling; hence, your AC blowing warm air.

That scenario can happen when your condenser unit loses power, often due to a blown fuse or tripped circuit breaker. If you discover that your outdoor AC unit keeps tripping the circuit breaker, read this to find out what to do next:
Why is my air conditioner tripping the circuit breaker?.

IMPORTANT: Never try to diagnose electrical issues yourself unless you are a trained electrician or HVAC expert. Live voltage is not something you want to experiment with!

There is one thing you can check, however:your emergency shutoff switch. It may have been accidentally shut off, cutting the power to your condenser unit and leading to your AC blowing warm air.

6. Dirty condenser coils

One of the important functions of your condenser unit is releasing heat to the outside of your building. The condenser coil is responsible for that job. Because it’s exposed to the elements, it can get caked with dirt and grime, not to mention leaves and trash. Eventually that impedes the operation of the coils, and your system can’t cool effectively, so the AC is blowing warm air.

7. Refrigerant leak

Refrigerant is the substance that flows through your air conditioning system and (to make a long story short) makes the cooling happen. It’s a closed loop, so you should not need to add refrigerant unless there’s a leak in your refrigerant line or the coils. When that happens, your system loses refrigerant charge and cooling power. Depending on the size of the leak, cooling loss can happen slowly or all at once, but eventually your AC is blowing warm air.

Never allow anyone to add more refrigerant without fixing the leak! If you do the problem will just happen again. Additionally, if your system uses the refrigerant R22 (also known as Freon)… which is likely if it’s older than 10 years or so… that refrigerant is being phased out as per the EPA come January 2020. That means it will get increasingly expensive to fix, and you will need to think about replacement in the near future.

Regular maintenance prevents most causes of AC blowing warm air

If you did find a small problem you could fix easily, congrats! Now, we bet you want to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Here’s your answer to uninterrupted comfort all summer long:preventative AC maintenance. Check it out:you’ll be glad you did!