If your air conditioner is constantly turning on and then back off again, it
is a problem that shouldn't be ignored. This issue is known as short cycling, and it not only means
something is wrong with your air conditioning system, but it also means your
home is not being properly cooled. You need to determine what is causing this
short cycling and have it fixed. A trained technician at J.R. Perkins Heating
& Cooling can help diagnose the issue for you. If left alone, short cycling
will cause damage to your entire air conditioning
unit.
Thermostat Issues
The most unsuspected cause of short cycling could very well be your thermostat. A thermostat gauges the air
around it, and as such, it decides when it needs to activate your air
conditioning based on that ambient temperature around it. This means that
something like sun shining on your thermostat, for example, could cause your
thermostat to misread the home's temperature. However, when it senses cool
enough air, it will turn your air conditioning off. Having a thermostat in the
sun or over a vent can cause short cycling issues.
Low Refrigerant
When the refrigerant is low in your air conditioner, the compressor levels
become unstable and it can cause short cycling. Refrigerant is necessary for
absorbing heat and producing cool air from your air conditioner. However,
refrigerant doesn't just run low. When you have low refrigerant, it means there
is a leak that needs to be rectified before your air conditioner stops working
altogether.
Air Conditioner is Too Large
When it comes to air conditioners, bigger is not better. Any air
conditioning technician at J.R. Perkins Heating & Cooling will agree.
What happens when an air conditioner is too big for your home is that it cools
the house too fast and causes the air conditioner to short cycle. This seems
like it would be preferred, but air conditioners take increased wear while
short cycling, and also suffer from diminished energy efficiency.
J.R. Perkins is the first heating and air conditioning company in the East
Valley, servicing Phoenix and more specifically Scottsdale, AZ. To learn more,
please visit our website at www.JRPerkins.com
or call (480) 422-4437.
