How Short-Cycling Affects Your Air Conditioner

Short-cycling is the bane of air conditioning systems. It is highly damaging, and extremely common. If your air conditioner starts short-cycling, it is to be considered an emergency. In the interests of preventing short-cycling from destroying your system, let’s go over why you need to call for repairs as soon as you notice it happening.

What Short-Cycling Is

Short-cycling is the name for a behavior in which your air conditioner turns itself on and off every few minutes. This locks the system into its startup cycle, which is the most stressful part of its entire operation, and prevents it from completing the cycle. There are a couple of different possible causes for this. It is possible that a malfunctioning thermostat is sending bad signals to the air conditioner. It is also possible that the compressor is damaged or faulty, which throws off the rhythm of the air conditioner. Regardless of the cause, though, what you should focus on are the consequences.

Damage Short-Cycling Can Cause

The fact of the matter is that air conditioning systems are not designed to deal with the stress put on them by constant short-cycling. If the condition is not dealt with right away, the substantial increase in wear and tear on the AC makes it more likely for various parts of the system to fail. This leads to an increase in repairs and, eventually, can cause the entire system to break down. On top of that, short-cycling prevents the air conditioner from actually progressing to the part of its cycle where it provides the most cooling. As long as your air conditioner is short-cycling, it will not be able to keep your home comfortably cool.

If your air conditioner is short-cycling, call Speedy Air Conditioning Service. We serve the entire Port St. Lucie, FL area.