Is Your Circuit Breaker Tripping Too Often? It Could Be Your HVAC Unit….

If your electricity circuit breaker trips, it can be a little frustrating trying to discover what the cause is. The temptation is to simply reset it, but remember, the circuit breaker is there to protect you and there has to be a good reason why it tripped in the first place. One of the first places you should look is your HVAC unit, as there are a number of things that can cause it to trip your circuit breaker, particularly if the unit is prone to overheating.

• Have you checked the levels of refrigerant in the unit? The lower the level, the harder your HVAC unit has to work, and therefore is likely to overheat. If the level is low, it is likely you have developed a leak, so you would be well advised to call out an engineer.
• Are the condenser coils on your HVAC unit dirty? In the same way as low levels of refrigerant affect performance, so dirty coils can force your unit to over extend itself and subsequently overheat. Cleaning condenser coils should be part of your regular maintenance procedure.
• Is the condenser fan working properly? This fan is used to keep the condenser unit cool, so if it fails to function properly, the unit will overheat.
• Is the HVAC air filter dirty? Once again, a dirty air filter can be the cause of an overheating HVAC unit, so make sure that the filter is cleaned and/or replaced on a regular basis.
• A loose electrical connection. This can be harder to find, and really should only be checked for by a qualified HVAC technician or engineer. Never try to spot a loose connection with the power switched ‘on’.
• Electricity breakers trip if there is a ‘short’, and your HVAC unit could be the cause. As with a loose wire, you really should get a qualified engineer out to check for this type of fault.
• Worn out compressor or capacitor. These will need replacing from time to time in your HVAC unit. You know a capacitor is faulty if the air conditioner has trouble starting before the circuit trips. The compressor could trip the breaker when it has problems starting.

If your circuit breaker trips and you can’t find out why, give us a call here at (512) 836-1414 in Austin, TX and we’ll come out and check to see if your HVAC unit is the cause of all your problems.