An air conditioner undergoes an enormous amount of strain in summer. It’s definitely one of the hardest-working appliances in your home during the time of year. A mechanical system can’t do that amount of labor over time without the risk of wear and deterioration taking a toll. Regular maintenance will help immensely at slowing down this decay, but at some point, you may run into mechanical trouble with your AC that’ll require the help of HVAC professionals. One of the more common is the “hard-starting compressor.”

What’s a Hard‑Starting Compressor?

The compressor is the heart of the air conditioning system: it’s the component that applies energy to the refrigerant and makes it circulate. It does this by compressing the warm refrigerant that comes from the evaporator coil and changing it into a hot, high-pressure gas. But when the compressor begins to struggle to overcome the initial pressure inside it, it is known as “hard-starting.” This can happen because of problems with the motors or from friction in an aging compressor.

Whatever the problem, hard-starting is a major malfunction. It will drain extra energy, make the air conditioner slower at cooling down a home, and eventually cause the compressor to burn-out. Replacing a compress is an expensive repair, and you want to avoid it if at all possible.

How We Can Fix a Hard‑Starting Compressor

It’s actually not difficult for our technicians to repair this problem. What we’ll do is attach a hard-start kit to the compressor. This kit consists of a start capacitor and relay, which sends the extra voltage to the compressor motor necessary to give it a “kick start” each time. The compressor will drain less power and overcome the initial resistance.

In the case of an extremely old air conditioning system (more than 15 or 20 years old), it may be a better idea to have the AC replaced instead. Trust to our technicians to help you make the best choice for your long-term savings.

Golden Rule offers quality AC repair service to Des Moines, IA. We obey the rules to live by!

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