Did Your AC Get Frozen Up? Here’s What You Can Do

Have you found ice in your AC? Relax. It is surely a shocking sight but a common occurrence in air conditioners. An AC or air conditioner is a self-contained system with many interdependent and interconnected parts. A small fault in any of these parts can result in a major issue, like ice in the AC unit. So, here, you might think about how this happened in the first place and what possible steps I can take to get the AC to start working normally. If this is on your mind, our post has answers.

Work Cycle of Air Conditioning Unit

The common concept of how air conditioners work is by blowing cool air into the room. However, it is sad to break this childhood myth by saying it is not the case. The real work cycle of an air conditioner involves removing the warm air from the building, cooling it with the help of refrigerant, and then releasing the cool air, providing the cooling effect. The air conditioner works in 3 steps, which are as follows:

Step 1: Heat Absorption

• Warm air from the room is drawn into the air conditioner unit.
• This warm air passes over cold evaporator coils containing refrigerant.
• The refrigerant absorbs heat from the air, cooling it down.
• The now-cooled air is blown back into the room through vents.

2. Heat Rejection

• The refrigerant, now warmed from absorbing heat, is compressed by the compressor.
• The compressed refrigerant is pumped to the outdoor condenser coils.
• The heat is released from the refrigerant to the outside air through the condenser coils.
• The refrigerant cools down and returns to a liquid state.

3. Refrigerant Cycle

The cooled liquid refrigerant flows through an expansion valve, where its pressure and temperature drop significantly. The low-pressure refrigerant enters the evaporator coils, ready to absorb heat again, starting the cycle anew.

Why Does an AC Compressor Freeze?

A common cause of AC compressor freezing is a glitch that disrupts the functioning of the evaporator. The refrigerant causes excessive cooling, resulting in AC ice formation. If your AC’s coils are frozen, something is off with your AC. To diagnose and fix your AC’s issue, you need to understand what is causing it to freeze. The two main things that make your AC to freeze include:

1. Closed Airflow

Air conditioners require regular airflow to prevent humidity from reaching coils and resulting in freezing. However, uncleaned or clogged filters can disrupt the flow of air and freeze the system. For this reason, HVAC experts suggest cleaning the filters of your air conditioning unit once every three months.