The first serious week of warm weather for the middle of the year in Southern California is a good time to watch carefully the performance of your AC. If the air conditioner is starting off with poor performance that doesn’t keep your home cooled down the way it should, you want to have the proper AC repair in Orange County, CA done right away. You can trust our experienced team to handle whatever you need. And that job starts out with discovering why your AC isn’t keeping up the way it should.
Here are a few of the most common reasons we find an air conditioner isn’t up to its job:
Short-cycling
An air conditioner provides cooling in cycles that last for fifteen minutes or more. The compressor comes on and runs until the thermostat senses it has reached the temperature setting for the home, and then the compressor cycles off. If the compressor rapidly turns on and off, staying on for only a few minutes at a time, it is short-cycling. This not only lowers cooling power (because the AC is turning off early) but it can inflict damage to the components and even shorten the system life! There are many potential causes of short-cycling—let a professional diagnose the cause.
Refrigerant leaks
It’s difficult to notice a refrigerant leak in an AC (usually caused by tiny pinhole leaks) until it starts to have a negative effect on performance. This loss of refrigerant endangers your cooling, but far worse is that it will eventually lead to compressor burn out—the AC was designed to work at a specific refrigerant amount! Our technicians will locate and seal the leaks, then replace the lost refrigerant to bring it back to factory levels.
Lack of maintenance
If you’re having trouble with your AC this spring and it hasn’t had its regular pre-season maintenance, now is the time to have it done. Lack of maintenance is the leading reason for many air conditioner malfunctions. Around 80% of AC repairs can be avoided thanks to maintenance. If there are repair needs for the system, our technicians will locate them during maintenance.
Hard-starting
An air conditioner is hard-starting if the compressor has to overcome extra resistance when it starts up. This often happens with older ACs, and sometimes is a warning that it’s time for a new system. However, technicians can often fix the issue and give the system a longer service life by installing a hard-start kit.
Dirty outdoor coils or obstructed condenser
You may not pay much attention to the outdoor cabinet (i.e. the condenser), but if the outdoor coil is covered with dirt, grass, and mulch, or if bushes and branches are too close to it, it will cut down on AC performance. Clear away the area as much as possible. If dirty coils are the problem, please let professionals handle the cleaning so as not to damage the coils.
You can arrange for any repairs with our Saddleback professionals. We also offer our MVP Program to take care of routine maintenance.
Saddleback Plumbing has served Orange County since 1981. Schedule the AC services you need!