Trusted for Generations

There’s Ice on My Air Conditioner, Is That Normal?

Share:
More

It’s a perfectly plausible question: “there’s ice on my air conditioner, is that normal?” You might logically assume that it is, since ice implies cold, and providing cold air is your air conditioner’s job. Sadly, there’s nothing normal about ice on your air conditioner, though it is all too common among AC units. How does ice form on your AC? More importantly, why should anyone worry when ice forms on the air conditioner?

Our expert technicians are here for youSchedule Online Today

AC systems run on refrigerant, which cycles through a series of valves and coils that raise and lower the temperature. The condenser coils shift the refrigerant from a gaseous to a liquid state, while the expansion coils evaporate the liquid and return it to a gas. That process pulls heat from the air surrounding the coils, and the newly cooled air can then be blown into your home with a fan.

The process depends on set amounts of refrigerant particular to your model of air conditioning. When those levels drop – usually because a leak has formed in the system – then the entire process is thrown off. Ice forms on the expansion coils, as the temperature of the coils gets too low and freezes the condensate. Even worse, the ice forms an insulating layer between the remaining refrigerant and the air it’s supposed to cool.

Simply scraping the ice off won’t help (and may end up damaging to coils to boot) since it’s merely a symptom of the problem and not the cause. To fix the issue, a trained technician needs to seal the leak and recharge the refrigerant to its prescribed levels. The good news in that in this and other issue of air conditioning repair, Tampa, FL residents have the experts of Ierna’s Heating & Cooling to turn to. We can get it fixed and back to its expected running state again as quickly as possible!

Categories: