5 Reasons Your AC is Too Loud

The Florida summer heat is vexing. But something else that’s irritating is an air conditioner that’s too loud. To help you figure out what could be causing this problem, we’ve compiled a list with the five most common reasons an AC is too loud.

1. The motor needs lubrication.

Newer models don’t need to have the motors lubricated. But there are many homeowners who’ve had their air conditioning units for years. While you could find online tips on how to lubricate the motor yourself, air conditioners use very high-voltage. Instead of risking injury, let an HVAC technician do it for you.

2. Dirty coil fins.

The condenser unit is the large portion of your air conditioner system that sits outside your home or business. If you fail to have routine preventive AC maintenance, the coil fins lining the walls of the unit will get clogged with debris. Untrimmed bushes or tree branches may be shed leaves and sticks into the fins.

You can take care of this problem by using a condenser fin comb to straighten them back to their original position. You should also hose them down yearly. Before you do this, please shut off your air conditioner and shut off the breaker that powers it.

3. AC is too big for your home.

If you recently installed your air conditioner, and it’s always been noisy, you likely installed a unit that’s too big for your home.

In addition to being noisy, the following signs are indications that your unit is too large:

Short AC cycles. An air conditioner’s cycle starts the moment it turns on and ends when it reaches the temperature you set on the thermostat. At that point, it automatically shuts off.

If your AC is too large, it will cool down your home quickly, causing the AC to shut off within minutes.

Your home is humid. Air conditioners work by absorbing hot air from your home. When this happens, condensation from the humidity drips from the AC coils into a drip pan. Once the pan is full of water, it is drained outside through condensate drain lines. If your AC is too big, it will cool down your home too quickly, and the cycle will shut off before the drip pan is full, leaving the water to pool for long periods of time, causing your home to feel more humid.

Higher energy bills. If your bills are higher than before you installed the unit and you’ve experienced the signs above, you now know why.

Your home doesn’t cool evenly. Since the oversized unit is constantly short-cycling, the rooms that are furthest away from the thermostat will heat up at a faster rate.

If you think your AC unit is too big for your home, when you choose a replacement unit, be sure it has the proper amount of BTUs for your home’s size. BTU stands for British Thermal Unit and it refers to the amount of heat an AC can eliminate from the air. For each ton of heat that has to be removed from a space, an AC unit needs 12,000 BTUs.

In order to know how many BTUs are adequate to cool your home properly, take into account the following factors:

– Square footage of your home
– Construction materials
– Type of insulation

Before deciding on a new unit, consult with an HVAC professional to confirm the BTU needs of your home.

4. The air ducts are damaged.

Air ducts will make noises when installed incorrectly. This will also occur if they are not compatible with your air conditioning unit. The ducts could be caked with years of dust and debris. Or there could be a leak in a duct, which would cause your air conditioner to work harder than it should, in turn increasing your energy bills.

5. It’s time to install a new unit.

The average lifespan of an air conditioner is 15 to 20 years. If you’ve been providing it with regular maintenance, it’ll last towards the higher end of that spectrum. However, if you’ve barely maintained it you’ll probably get 15 years if you’re lucky. Past that timeframe you’ll likely start needing frequent repairs. The loud noises may be your AC letting you know it’s time for an upgrade.

Call our HVAC professionals at A Plus Air Conditioning and let us help you!

Most of the issues listed above can be prevented with regular HVAC maintenance. And because we have a 24/7 emergency line, we can fix your issues ASAP.

Call us at (352) 374-4988 and let us get your AC back to proper working order.