Do you guys encounter situation where your aircon freezing up and there are ice forming around the aircon? It can be difficult to find out the reasons why it is freezing up. The ice formation on the aircon is one of the common aircon problems faced by households in Singapore. There are actually a number of factors that can contribute to the problem. The common air-conditioners such as wall mounted or even central aircon will face icing problems. it is no surprise if you ever encountered such issues in your units in your home or office. If you ever face such issues, ALV Aircon is able to fix all your aircon problems in Singapore. We are one of the leading aircon servicing company in Singapore that specialise in various aircon services such as aircon repair, servicing, chemical washing, installation and maintenance. We have also helped many of our customers to rectify their Aircon freezing problems.
Air-conditioner Freezing Up (Ice Forming)
In this article, we will be discussing the possible issues that your air-conditioner could be facing that results in your units being frozen. However, we will first discuss on how the air conditioner produce cool air, the cooling process of the aircon as this is the cause of the ice forming issue in your aircon.
Relations Between Aircon and Joule-Thomson Effect
Many of you may not have heard about the theory of Joule-Thomson effect. It actually follows the thermodynamics principle where it involves the expansion of gas molecules with a decreasing pressure decreasing in an environment where everything is constant. This result in the temperature of the gas to decrease. Oppositely, inside a compressed gas, the molecules will starts to breakdown where it will result in the temperature to rise. This theory applies to our household air-conditioning system where the refrigerant gas inside the coil will expands and cool which will helps to produce cool air inside your room. During the cooling process, the refrigerant gas will take in the heat energy in the air and will then take it to the outdoor. Hence, the cooling cycle will repeats and this is the Joule-Thomson effects that cool down our room or office.
Reasons Why My Aircon Freeze Up?
As mentioned above, there are actually many reasons that cause your aircon to freeze up. One of the reasons is that your air-conditioner may not have adequate airflow. The lack of warm indoor air may cause the units to form ice around it. This is because, the aircon is unable to perform the cooling process as the refrigerant gas unable to discharge the heat outside of the house. This will ultimately result in aircon freezing up which could potentially harm your units.
Another reason why your aircon freeze could be due to a dirty aircon. Your aircon may haven dirt, dust, mold and other substances accumulated on the coils. This actually causes the freon gas in the coils unable to remove the heat to outside your house efficiently. Over time, this will cause freezing issues on your units. If you are facing aircon ice forming problems due to a dirty aircon, you can simply hire a professional aircon company in Singapore for aircon chemical wash. This can easily solve your aircon icing problems if the cause is due to a dirty aircon.
Do you know that your aircon is designed in a way where it should work when the outdoor temperature is hot? If your air-conditioner operates when the temperature is cool outside, it may cause problems to your air-conditioner. You may face problems when the temperature of the air-conditioning system is too low which cause the aircon to freeze up. This is not a big issue and can be easily rectified. However, this not a commonly seen in Singapore as everyone knows that our country’s weather is always hot.
Another possible reason that cause the icing issues in your aircon is that there could be faulty parts in your air-conditioning system. For example, a defect in the refrigerant piping or choke in the dryer filter. There are also other possible parts that could cause the problem. Thus, whenever you face any issues such as aircon freezing up and you are unsure of the cause of it, you should contact with the experts in the air-conditioning field and they help you by rectifying the problem.
Solutions to Fix Aircon Freeze Up Problems
When your air-conditioner face icing issues, it can actually cause severe harmful effects on your units such as causing damage to other parts and in long-term, it could reduce the lifespan of the air-conditioner. Since wear and tear happens when air-conditioner is old, there will be higher possibilities for your aircon to face freezing issues. Hence, you will need to engage a professional aircon company to troubleshoot and investigate on it. If you suspect that your units is freezing, you should call your aircon servicing technicians immediately. A professional technicians will be able to troubleshoot your aircon and rectify the problems you are facing. Since the air-conditioner contains some sort of risk, such as refrigerant gas and electricity, therefore, the troubleshooting of air-conditioning should only be done by professionals to prevent any danger to home owners.
There are also other ways that you could try to prevent the worsening of the aircon ice forming problem. You can try turning off your aircon to allow the ice to defrost. This can also prevent the worsening of the icing problems which can cause damage to other parts of your units. After you turn off the units, you can hire an experienced aircon technician to take a look at your units. Other than that, if the temperature outside of your house is too cold, you can wait until the temperature outside to increase and try turning on your aircon and check if the icing issue is still exist. However, this situation seldom happens in Singapore as mentioned above because everyone should know that Singapore is an extremely hot country. Thus, the temperature outside our house is never too low. Other than that, if you suspect that are faulty mechanical parts in your air-conditioner, it is advised to call a technician to troubleshoot the aircon for you. If you want to check it yourself, beware of the risk and danger in it such as the refrigerant and electricity, other than that, your warranty may also be voided.
Summary of Fixing Aircon Ice Forming Problems
In summary, the air-conditioning system makes use of the Joule-Thomas effect where it uses the refrigerant gas to transfer the heat to the outside of the house. At the same time, it will also cool the indoor air. However, at any point of time, if there is an improper balance during the cooling process in the system, it may cause your air-conditioner to freeze up. Alternatively, if you are running your unit at a low temperature, it may also cause aircon freezing problems. However, do not fret as the aircon ice forming problems can be easily resolved by professional aircon servicing technicians.
