This Is Why Your AC Won’t Stay On in Arlington, VA

Short cycling is when your AC turns on and off before it can complete a full cooling cycle. Though experiencing this can certainly be frustrating, few homeowners in Arlington, VA know how harmful this is to their AC system and how important it is to put a stop to it. To help you understand why your system is doing this, here are some possible explanations for why your AC is short cycling.

Dirty Filters

Over time, your AC’s air filters will accumulate debris on them, which may become serious enough to curtail the flow of air through your system. From this, a variety of difficulties for both your IAQ and your AC can follow, but one is particularly relevant to short cycling.

If airflow is poor enough, it will be more difficult for your AC to expel and dissipate heat. As a result, that heat will tend to gather inside the system, overheating everything and forcing it to turn off. It may then turn on again, and if that behavior continues, it will turn into short cycling.

Luckily, it’s fairly easy to take care of this issue. You simply need to remember to clean or replace your AC’s air filters about once every 90 days.

Dirt-Coated Condenser Coils

The final step in the refrigeration cycle occurs when hot and pressurized refrigerant condenses in your AC’s outdoor condenser coil, releasing heat outside. If these coils become dirty, however, the heat may stay inside your AC and overheat the system. This may cause short cycling in a similar way to how dirty filters might.

Malfunctioning Thermostat

The source of your cooling system’s troubles may lie outside the unit itself and in your thermostat. If your thermostat malfunctions, it may send incorrect signals to your AC, which can trigger bizarre and erratic behaviors, one of which is short cycling. We recommend that a technician inspect your thermostat if it is more than 10 years old.

Don’t sit by idly and allow your AC to short cycle. Call Vernon The Heating & Cooling Specialist and schedule AC repair services near Arlington, VA today.

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