What causes an air conditioner to fail?

Common Causes for Failure

Most systems repairs are caused by just FOUR problems or root conditions that effect operation and life span of the machine.

− AGE OF THE EQUIPMENT motor bearings, contactor surfaces, capacitors, current relays, heating elements, reversing valves, blower wheels, light bulbs, burners, solenoids, pressure switches, sensors all these things have a life span that is affected by wear and tear and simple hours of operation. Nothing lasts forever but with regular preventive maintenance we know that most machines will last years longer than the average. 

− DIRT  Dirt is the single biggest attacker of the efficiency and life span of all heating and air conditioning equipment. The machines that keep us comfortable do it by moving energy. Whether the energy is moving into the home or being extracted from the home the moving and heating or cooling of air is involved. With air comes both water and dirt. Both of these things must be handled appropriately to not only ensure our comfort but to keep our heath intact as well. A dirty system grows disease causing pathogens. A wet dirty system grows them even faster and these conditions can easily destroy our health and degrade our homes to an unlivable condition. A clean system is essential for healthy living and a dirty system always fails early.

− POOR INSTALLATION Today’s systems are the culmination of decades of proven technology. We regularly see systems that last decades longer than what the average in Oklahoma is but we never see them last that long in a continued state of dirtiness or a poorly installed condition. UNIT SIZING must accurate to avoid health and operational problems. Ducting must be both sized appropriately but also installed according to established standards including properly sized air returns and filtration systems.

− LACK OF PROPER MAINTENANCE This is the number one problem that we see in our market today. Life’s increasingly hectic demands make it very hard for us to find the time to actually accomplish everything we NEED TO DO to make our lives enjoyable and comfortable. Let’s be honest. Maintaining HVAC equipment is near the top of almost no one’s priority list. These systems, however deserve our attention. Not only are they a huge influencer of the health conditions within our home (both positive and negative), our systems are typically the single most expensive part of for what most of us is our biggest investment and they also use the most energy of all of our household items. Our heating, air conditioning and ventilation systems deserve our upmost attention. We can help you know what to do and we can do it for you.