Every morning the past few days, you may have woken up to a warm house because your home's central air conditioning unit keeps freezing up. Even after spending time to thaw it, it keeps happening, leading you to wonder what could be causing the issue. If so, there are a couple of potential reasons why your home's A/C unit keeps freezing up, one of which you can remedy yourself.

1.  Thermostat Is Set Lower than the Temperature Outside 

One possible reason why your air conditioner is frozen every morning is that you have set the thermostat too low. If the temperature you are trying to reach inside of your home is lower than the temperature outside, moisture will settle around and on the condenser.

As the condenser works to cool your home, it will also freeze the layer of water droplets that are coating the surface. As these droplets freeze, the area around the condenser will become even cooler, which causes more condensation to ice. As the ice builds up, it creates more condensation that also freezes up. By the morning, the unit is frozen up and no longer cooling properly. To remedy this, turn off your air conditioner for a few hours, and let it thaw completely. Then, make sure that your thermostat is set to a temperature above the forecasted one. 

2.  Coolant Is Leaking Somewhere Inside of the Air Conditioning Unit

If ensuring that your thermostat is set above the outdoor temperature but still does not work, the cause for the freezing could be that you have a coolant leak. This is especially true if you notice that the air conditioner freezes up at all times of the day.

As its name suggests, coolant is extremely cold, allowing it to cool the air as it passes through the condenser. However, if the coolant is leaking and lands on the condenser, lines, and other parts, the coolant's temperature plus the condenser's low temperature will result in ice formation. The leak could be located anywhere within the condenser or on one of the coolant lines. 

If there is a coolant leak inside of the A/C unit, it poses a health risk to those around you as well as presents an environmental hazard. You need to have a professional look at it as soon as possible to determine where it is located so that it can be fixed. To have this or other repairs done, contact an HVAC contractor who offers A/C repair services near you.

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