If you’re like me (or really any human being) your worst fear is your air conditioner dying in the middle of a hot sweltering day. Air Conditioning units are usually pretty robust but like any electrical unit they are prone to break down after consistent use.

But lucky for you just because they aren’t working now doesn’t mean the AC can’t be repaired. No need to worry about having to spend an insane amount of money to get it replaced, AC repair might just be a few simple steps away.

Now depending on what kind of air conditioning system you’re using there are going to be different solutions. But whether you’re using a simple window AC or central air the problems aren’t that different from one another. But for this article I’m going to tell you how to get your central AC working properly.

Let’s start with some solutions to simple problems.

Central AC Doesn’t Turn On

There can be several reasons for this. Let’s start with the simplest.

1. Ensure the thermostat is set to “cool” and is below room temp. Most AC units turn on when needed. If the room arrives at the temp set on the AC it will turn off, as it has done its job.
2. Check the fuse box and make sure the circuit hasn’t been tripped.
3. It could be a burnt-out compressor. When the compressor fails the AC won’t run. There’s nothing you can do here yourself. It’ll require a replacement of the equipment.

The best thing to do at this point is to call an air conditioner repair specialist.

Air Conditioner Doesn’t Cool

There’s nothing worse than an AC that blows warm air. It’s like getting the middle finger from an appliance.

Here’s what may be causing it:

The refrigerant lines are not insulated. To give you an idea of what this means, you should know that the outdoor unit and the indoor unit are connected by what are called “refrigerant lines”. Two of them to be exact, made out of copper. To continue working properly they should have insulating sleeves on them. If upon inspection they don’t have sleeves, these can be bought for pretty cheap.

There’s also the possibility the system needs its refrigerant charged back up.

Again your best bet in this situation is to call an AC repair guy.

Central air is not something you want to mess around with too much yourself. It’s not a window AC and if too much damage is caused by someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing the cost to replace it is a pretty penny.

Those were some solutions or possible reasons behind your non-functioning AC. Just remember when all else fails there are AC repair specialists who are trained to deal with these stubborn pieces of machinery. So never hesitate to call them when you can’t fix it yourself.