What To Do When Your Air Conditioner Stops Working In The Middle of Summer

Right when you were just about to kick back and enjoy the summer afternoon from the comfort of your air conditioned home, your cooling unit decides to suddenly quit! Leaving you without temperature control, humidity control and increased stress levels. 

Nobody wants their air conditioner to conk out right in the middle of the hottest months of the year. With more and more companies switching to home offices and those summer heat waves waiting to spring on unsuspecting Canadians, this is probably the worst time for your air conditioner to die! But don’t worry, at Campeau Heating, we understand this stress very well!

During the summer months, emergency calls for a broken cooling unit are all too common! In fact, we’ve had quite a few of those unsuspecting homeowners in Sudbury, Ontario, call us with an HVAC emergency.

Depending on the make and model of your air conditioner, as well as its age and maintenance history, this could be a call you’ll be making soon as well. Whether you have central air conditioning, a split air conditioner or the best ductless AC in the region - proper air conditioner upkeep is a given in order to keep your cooling system functioning properly.

In this article, we want to give you the tools and knowledge you need to know what to do when your air conditioner breaks down. The hope is that these tips will help you stay calm and relaxed as you navigate the solution and get your home AC back up and running.

Has your air conditioner already conked out for the summer? Contact our air conditioning technicians at Campea Heating for AC repair or for a replacement cooling unit. 

What You Should Do When Your Air Conditioner Breaks 

Similar to how you would act if the hydro went out in your home during the winter, the first step is to try and maintain the temperature of your home and conserve the energy that was used to get it to that point. 

For example, if the hydro went out in the middle of winter, you would do your best to conserve the heat in the most central part of your home. By ensuring that your home is properly sealed up, the heat is able to stay INSIDE while the cold air remains OUTSIDE. 

When your air conditioner breaks down in the middle of summer, you want to keep the cool air inside and the hot air outside. So, the first step in accomplishing this is to conserve all the cool air that your air conditioner worked so hard to bring in - here’s how to do that!

1. Close your windows and shut the curtains. If you don’t have curtains, try putting a towel or blanket over the window to block out those UV rays. 

2. Close the doors to the rooms you don’t need cooled and try to centralize your family’s activities to one room. It’s best if this room is naturally the coolest area of your home.

3. Increase air circulation by running your ceiling fans. A “cool” trick is to put a bowl of ice in front of a floor fan so that it begins to blow cold air back into your room - voila, makeshift air conditioner!

4. Wear “cool” clothes! Fabrics that allow your skin to breathe are a necessity during a heat wave or AC outage.

5. Hydrate. Hydrate. Hydrate. 

Not sure what the negative health effects of a heat wave are? CLICK HERE. 

How To Get Your Cooling Unit Running Again

Now that your family is staying cool and comfortable, the next step is to find out WHY your air conditioner broke. 

It’s important that you understand exactly why your air conditioner stopped working in order to know exactly how to fix it. Or whether it’s even fixable at all.

If you have a professional HVAC background, this is where you can put your skills to use in troubleshooting the issue. However, if you aren't professionally trained to handle HVAC equipment, we recommend calling our Campeau Heating HVAC maintenance crew. 

We can assess the situation, make recommendations as per the next steps and even get started on the solution so that you can get back to enjoying your summer!

Why Did My Air Conditioner Break?

After we’ve assessed your broken air conditioner, we’ll normally come up with one of the following causes (unless it’s something more serious):

1. The circuit breaker has been tripped. 

Is your circuit breaker responsible for powering the majority of your home appliances? If so, chances are it has been tripped.

2. A fuse has been blown.

If you check your home’s fuse box, you can normally see whether a fuse has been blown or not. You can also use a multimeter to run a continuity test!

3. The air filter is clogged.

If your air filters are clogged, air is not able to flow properly through your cooling unit - causing your AC coils to freeze over! 

4. The outdoor condenser is clogged. 

The outdoor portion of your air conditioner collects quite a bit of unwanted debris (ie. bird nests, mud, leaves). This can cause breakage within your cooling unit and prevent it from running.

5. The AC capacitor has died. 

Your AC capacitor is what powers your motor. It’s the tool that keeps the airflow moving through your air conditioner! If your AC capacitor has quit, the unit can no longer run - goodbye air conditioning!

Should You Replace Your Air Conditioner Or Call For AC Repairs?

Knowing whether your air conditioner is repairable or not can be difficult - especially if you don’t have professional HVAC experience. 

If you’re not sure what steps need to be taken to get your cooling unit back up and running, or whether you need to replace your system entirely, contact our HVAC technicians! We can help assess the damages and make recommendations on your next steps.

Did you know that proper air conditioner maintenance can save you money? Once you have repaired or replaced your cooling unit, consider scheduling regular maintenance appointments with our HVAC technicians in order to prevent the same unexpected outage in the future! We’ll check your air filters, fan motors, refrigerant level, drain lines and more. 

Contact Campeau Heating in Sudbury, Ontario 

Summer is short and sweet in Ontario and we want you to enjoy every minute of it! If you’re concerned about your air conditioner or you’ve experienced an air conditioner outage, contact our experienced HVAC team today! 

Give us a call at (705) 560-2441 or visit us online to schedule an HVAC maintenance appointment!