As a business owner, you know how important it is to maintain a comfortable environment for your employees and customers. A malfunctioning cooling system can lower productivity and drive patrons away. Prevent disruptions and keep your commercial space cool with proactive AC maintenance from the team at Markool Heating & Cooling.
With many years of experience serving clients across the Frederick, MD region, our licensed technicians have seen it all when it comes to AC repairs. Here are nine issues commonly faced by commercial HVAC units to help you know what to watch out for. Learning to spot problems early allows for quicker resolution, reducing downtime.
1. Faulty Thermostat
An inaccurate or failing thermostat tops the list when it comes to frequent problems with commercial air conditioning units. Thermostats calibrated incorrectly or experiencing technical glitches cannot properly gauge and regulate the indoor temperature. As a result, your staff and customers may experience discomfort while the AC strains to cool inefficiently. This leads to higher energy bills, too.
Our technicians will fully test your thermostat sensors and settings during seasonal maintenance checks. If issues emerge, we’ll get your thermostat recalibrated or install a replacement model optimized for accurate, energy-efficient cooling.
2. Refrigerant Leaks
Modern AC units require a steady circulation of refrigerant to facilitate indoor cooling. Tiny leaks in the refrigerant lines or evaporator coils will cause the system to gradually lose its ability to extract indoor heat. Refrigerant levels may drop low enough for the AC unit to freeze up or operate only intermittently before shutting down completely.
During your AC tune-up, we’ll check refrigerant pressure levels and top off the coolant as required. If larger leaks exist, we’ll perform extensive testing to pinpoint breach sites. We can then patch leaks or replace damaged lines and coils.
3. Clogged Air Filters
Your commercial AC system relies on consistent airflow to exchange warm indoor air for cool, conditioned air. When debris builds up on system air filters over weeks and months, it restricts this crucial airflow, forcing AC components to strain harder against the obstruction. Much like clogged arteries restrict blood flow, congested air filters undermine the cooling capacity of an AC unit.
To restore unencumbered airflow and take pressure off your AC, our team will swap out filters with filthy accumulations of dust, dander and dirt with clean replacement filters as part of routine maintenance. We also check the filter fit to reduce future leakage of unfiltered ambient air into the system.
4. Faulty Condensate Pumps
In humid conditions, AC units output substantial condensation that must drain away properly to avoid pan overflow shutdowns. This moisture removal depends on tiny, easily obstructed condensate pumps located in the evaporator pan beneath the AC coils.
Blocked discharge lines, stuck impellers or motor burnout can all incapacitate these little pumps. Our technicians will check condensate systems thoroughly when servicing your AC to avert excess moisture collection in the pan leading to corrosion and major leaks. If your AC lacks a secondary float safety switch, we recommend installing one as backup protection.
5. Dirty Evaporator Coils
For air conditioning systems to deliver cold air, the unit must first extract heat through the evaporator coils. Warm air blown through this finned coil array gets cooled down significantly via heat-absorbing refrigerant converting from liquid to gas from within the coils. Over time, particulate accumulation on these sensitive coils insulates the metal surfaces. This prevents proper contact between the warm air and refrigerant-filled coils, stifling the cooling process.
During your AC tune-up, Markool Heating & Cooling will carefully clean dust and debris from the evaporator coils. We use gentle water pressure, specialty detergents and brushes designed to avoid damaging the fragile aluminum fins. This improves coil heat transfer for better energy efficiency and cooling power.
6. Failing Contactor
The AC contactor functions like an automated on/off switch governed by thermostat demand signals. Faulty contactors suffer from pitted points of electrical contact caused by small arcs during engagement. Such erosion eventually allows the contacts to waver, transmitting power inconsistently. This causes intermittent operation as the AC unit clicks on and off erratically.
Catching faulty contactors early prevents damaging power surges when they finally fail. We’ll monitor contactor performance and timing during maintenance to check for deterioration before operations suffer. At the first sign of wavering continuity, we replace old contactors with durable new models.
7. Compressor Failure
The AC compressor pressurizes refrigerant to initiate the indoor heat removal cycle. After years of exposure to strain, vibrations and cycling under pressure, compressors eventually fail. Burned-out motors, cracked heads and failed mounting gaskets will all render the compressor nonfunctional, halting the cooling process entirely.
Through performance testing, Markool Heating & Cooling can frequently detect declining compressor efficiency indicating wear and tear before catastrophic failure occurs. We may recommend preemptive compressor replacement/overhaul to avoid comfort disruptions and business shutdowns during your biggest revenue windows. With production schedules to keep, avoiding AC crisis management is essential.
8. Icing and Freezing
On overly hot and humid days, AC systems struggle to condense excess moisture from indoor air. When unable to sufficiently dehumidify incoming air in pace with extreme heat loads, the overworked evaporator coils gradually ice up from residual condensate clinging to their cold surfaces. Frost accumulation and ice buildup blocks air intake, threatening to disable the AC unit.
If we observe initial signs of ice formation near your AC coils during preventative maintenance, we can alter refrigerant pressure accordingly to facilitate condensation drainage before freezing can occur. Monitoring frost development helps us pinpoint the maximum cooling load your commercial AC can handle without icing risks. From there, we can explore facility insulation improvements or properly sized AC upgrades to conquer challenging humidity.
9. Burned Circuit Board
Modern AC systems depend on circuit boards and smart controls to optimize performance, regulate refrigerant pressures, operate variable-speed components and communicate with smart thermostats. Electrical surges due to storms or faulty wiring can overload and fry even robust control boards, leaving AC units directionless and inert.
By monitoring your AC controls daily and logging any strange operational changes, your facilities manager can provide our technicians with early warning of potential control board troubles. We’ll troubleshoot issues to determine if software reprogramming resolves glitches. For actual component failure, we’ll source and install replacement control boards so your AC resumes normal function promptly.
With proactive preventative maintenance from Markool Heating & Cooling shielding your commercial AC, costly emergency breakdowns don’t have to leave your team and customers sweating. We offer quarterly, biannual and annual maintenance plans customized to fit your facility priorities and budget. Beyond expert seasonal AC preparation and repairs, Markool Heating & Cooling handles a full range of environmental management services to optimize comfort while achieving operational efficiency, including boiler maintenance and steam heat services, duct sealing and insulation upgrades, indoor air quality assessments, and commercial humidification.
Don’t wait until scorching summer heat reveals hidden AC troubles as bitter customer complaints roll in. Contact Markool Heating & Cooling today to schedule tuned-up cooling before temperatures peak in Frederick.
