If the capacitor goes out on your outdoor air conditioning unit, this may feel alarming. After all, without the capacitor, your air conditioner probably will not start up at all. Thankfully, replacing an AC capacitor is fairly easy to do and tends to be one of the cheaper repairs to make.
Just give us a call if you think you need AC repair in Chambersburg, PA. Our team is here to help no matter what is wrong with your air conditioner. You can also keep reading to learn more about what the capacitor is, why it is so important for your air conditioner, and what happens when it breaks.
What Does a Capacitor Do?
The capacitor is a small part in the outdoor portion of your HVAC unit that collects and stores energy during operation. Then, it uses that energy to provide a little boost when your air conditioner first starts up for the next cooling cycle.
Without the capacitor building up some extra stored energy, your air conditioner can’t maintain enough power to start up. Once a cooling cycle begins, your air conditioner can sustain the power needed to cool your home. It just requires that first extra push to get started, and the capacitor provides it.
How Does a Capacitor Break?
As time passes, the capacitor can wear out from regular use. It charges over and over again and helps start your air conditioner multiple times throughout the day. It’s completely normal for the capacitor to need to be replaced as your air conditioner ages.
Signs of an Aging Capacitor
Ideally, you want to identify capacitor problems before they become so bad that your air conditioner stops working completely. If you begin to hear a humming sound come from your outdoor unit, this is an indication that the capacitor is beginning to wear out and needs to be replaced.
Toward the end of a capacitor’s lifespan, it will begin to hum under the strain of trying to help your air conditioner get started for a cooling cycle. If you hear this humming noise, it’s a good idea to go ahead and call for service to have the outdoor unit checked out. Our team can determine whether or not it’s time to replace the capacitor with a new one.
If so, we can make that replacement before your air conditioner stops working completely. Luckily, the capacitor is easy to replace and reasonably inexpensive. If your air conditioner does happen to stop working completely and you’re not sure why, there’s a good chance that the capacitor is to blame. Don’t panic, and instead give our team a call for service so that we can get down to the root of the problem.
To schedule your air conditioning service, contact Premier HVAC Services today!