Air conditioners can malfunction for a variety of different reasons, leaving you in a jam as your home gets hotter by the minute without cold air flowing through it. That's why you need to be aware of why your home's air conditioner is not behaving correctly, since it may be something that can be fixed by routine maintenance.

Dirty Air Filter

Do you remember the last time you changed your air filter? It's important that you replace the air filter according to the manufacturer's recommendations, and consider changing it more frequently if you have pets in your home that shed. That dirty air filter can restrict airflow to the air handler, which can actually contribute to frozen coils. In addition, it causes the entire HVAC system to work harder than necessary to cool down your home, which puts more wear and tear on the whole system. Do yourself a favor and simply change the air filter to prevent this from happening.

Dirty Compressor

All of that heat from inside your home is released through the compressor outside your home. The compressor is actually sucking air into the unit from the sides and releasing it out through the top, which blows away all that hot air that was absorbed through the evaporator coils. Unfortunately, the compressor is going to struggle to operate if the sides of the unit are dirty since it can't bring in the air it needs to release the heat. The compressor will eventually start to overheat and shut down as a safety precaution. Clean your compressor each year to stop the appliance from getting too dirty.

Refrigerant Leak

Refrigerant is pressurized within a sealed system, and cycles between the outdoor compressor and the indoor air handler to remove heat from your home. The refrigerant will never become low or depressurized unless there's a leak somewhere in the system. An HVAC professional can discover a leak by measuring the refrigerant in the system. Low refrigerant means that there is a leak somewhere that needs to be found and repaired, and then more refrigerant needs to be put back into the system.

Electrical Malfunction

Air conditioners these days have many different electrical components that can fail unexpectedly. Unfortunately, the process of diagnosing an electrical problem is often out of the comfort zone of many homeowners. It includes wiring, control boards, and switches that just stop working without warning. If you do not know how to check electrical components with a multimeter to see if electricity is flowing through them properly, you'll need the help of an HVAC technician to do it for you. 

For more information, contact a local company like Baton Rouge Air Conditioning & Heating.