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Carney All Seasons Blog

The Problem of AC Short Cycling

Summer is slowly drawing to a close, but we still have a few weeks left before heating season starts. It’s important that you keep an eye on your air conditioner, to make sure that it’s still free of issues. If you notice your air conditioner turning itself on and off every few minutes, don’t ignore it. That’s called short cycling, and it’s a serious problem. Let’s take a look at why short cycling happens, and the damage it can do to your air conditioning system.

Causes

There are a couple of different reasons why your air conditioner may start to short cycle. It’s possible that your thermostat is malfunctioning, or that there’s a wire short between it and your air conditioner. Even an otherwise healthy system can act oddly if the thermostat isn’t sending it the right signals. It’s also possible that your compressor is damaged in some way. The compressor is the part of the system responsible for circulating refrigerant gas through the air conditioner during operation. If the compressor is malfunctioning, it will throw off the rhythm of the entire system.

Damage

Short cycling dramatically increases the amount of stress on the system, far beyond what it was designed to handle. Various parts of the system will wear out and break down more frequently. This will cause the cost of keeping your air conditioner up and running to skyrocket. If the problem is not addressed quickly enough, the added wear and tear can cut short the system’s lifespan by a number of years. This is why you need to call for repairs as soon as you notice your system short cycling.

Carney Plumbing Heating & Cooling offers air conditioner repair services throughout Ambler, PA. If you need air conditioning services of any kind, call today to schedule an appointment with one of our experts.

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