The circuit breaker of your residential air conditioning system does not usually trip unless there is a problem that has caused it to undergo stresses, such as overloads, that are beyond its capacity. This article discusses some of the issues that may cause the circuit breaker to trip.
A Power Surge
A one-time incident, such as a power surge caused by lightning, may cause the circuit breaker on your AC system to trip. You can confirm that this is the problem by checking whether all your other appliances are on. Other tripped appliance breakers will confirm that the problem is not unique to the AC. Reset the circuit breaker and observe whether it goes off again. Don't reset it in case it trips soon after you have reset it because there could be a bigger problem in the AC.
A Clogged AC Filter
Your AC filter may have become clogged after you forgot to clean or replace it at the recommended interval. Such a clogged filter can cause the AC system to overheat because the unit will be working harder to push air through that clogged filter. Consequently, the circuit breaker may keep tripping each time that the system cycles on.
Poor Clearance Around the Condenser Coil
Warm air from inside your home is moved through a condenser coil in the external unit outside your home. That condenser coil has a fan that blows air over it. The fan helps to dissipate the heat from the heated air into the atmosphere. Lack of clearance around the condenser can cause heated air to keep moving through the AC system. This can cause the circuit breaker to trip because of the resultant overheating.
Insufficient Refrigerant
The AC system may also overwork to cool your home if it is low on refrigerant. This excessive amount of work done may cause the system to overheat because it will not be cycling off to rest and cool down. The circuit breaker of the AC may keep tripping each time the AC system overheats and faces a risk of bursting into flames.
As you can see, you can fix some of the reasons that cause the circuit breaker of your air conditioning system to keep tripping. However, it may be risky for you to attempt to fix other causes, such as aging components that keep overheating. It is better for you to call a licensed professional, such as those found at Air-Max Air Conditioning Pty Ltd, to handle such issues so that you don't make the situation worse.
