Why Is There Ice on My Air Conditioner? [FAQ]

Ice or frost spotted anywhere on your AC, means you have a frozen evaporator coil.

Do this now: Defrost the coil to prevent damage. Head to your thermostat, turn your AC off and switch your fan setting to ON. This will power down the cooling cycle but allow your fan to continue to blow air over the coil to help melt the ice.

Now, before we get into the problems that caused the frozen coil, let’s look at why the ice is there in the first place…

How and why ice forms on your evaporator coil

Your evaporator coil is the A-shaped group of copper tubes inside your indoor unit. Cold refrigerant runs through these coils, collects heat from your home’s air and moves the heat outside.

And as warm air hits the coil, condensation occurs. Normally, this condensation is drained safely out of your home.

But 2 problems can cause the coil to get so cold that it freezes the moisture on the coils:

• Low airflow
• Low refrigerant charge

Let’s look at each of these problems and what causes them in more detail.

Problem #1: Restricted airflow

If there’s something restricting or reducing the amount of air flowing through your AC system, the coil will freeze.

Common problems that cause restricted airflow include:

• Dirty air filter – Make sure you’re checking your air filter once a month and changing it when it’s dirty.
• Closed or blocked vents – Do not ever close or block vents!
• Dirty evaporator coil – The buildup of dirt on your coil is similar to a dirty air filter. A trusted tech can clean the evaporator coil as part of a maintenance visit.
• Damaged indoor blower – The blower moves all the air through your system. If it isn’t working properly, your coil can freeze.

Problem #2: Low refrigerant charge

A low refrigerant charge means you have a refrigerant leak. Refrigerant isn't “used up” like gas in a car. If you suspect refrigerant is a problem you’ll need a professional air conditioning contractor to find and fix the leak, clear out the remaining refrigerant, then add the right amount of refrigerant that your AC requires.

Coolray serves the entire Atlanta metro area’s air conditioning needs.