Came home yesterday to find that the house was burning up and the thermostat had automatically switched itself to heat… in the summer! We didn't know what was going on, and assumed some sort of bizarre computer chip issue, so we turned it back to A/C on the usual temperature, and left it alone.
Went down to the basement today to find that there was water pouring out of the A/C unit. It was running at the time. We turned it off, and the water stopped. Checked the drainage line for the drip pan… it is clear and drains fine. So, I opened up the plenum to take a look at the coils. They are covered in ice, which I'm assuming is not usual.
We replace our filters regularly. Other than that, I don't know much else. Any idea what could explain all this?
Best Answer
Inadequate refrigerant causes the evaporator (and sometimes the condensor) to form ice or frost on the outside.
The usual fix is to have a HVAC tech repair the refrigerant leaks and recharge the system.
You can save some of the service call cost by looking for the leaks and pointing them out. Soapy water works well applied with a spray bottle or small paintbrush.