Why Does My A/C Keep Tripping The Circuit Breaker

May 15, 2015

Why does your home’s AC keep tripping the circuit breaker, you ask?

Your AC is telling you something is wrong.

What is that something? Well, there are a number of possible causes. Here are a few of the most common.

Your AC is overheating because it’s working too hard

They don't call it a system for nothing’. Every individual part of your AC serves a function in order to work together to achieve the ultimate goal––to cool your home.

If one part is not working correctly, it can cause your AC to overheat and pull more electricity than it should. Your circuit breaker then “trips” to interrupt the flow of electricity to keep you and your home safe.

Here are some usual suspects of an overheating AC

Dirty air filter: Air filters are supposed to promote airflow, not slow it down. Change your air filter regularly.
Dirty condenser coils: Located in your outside unit, these coils are a big component to your AC’s cooling cycle because they carry refrigerant (the stuff that absorbs the heat inside your home). Your outside unit gets dirty over time– you can schedule a maintenance visit twice a year.
Low refrigerant: Low refrigerant can cause your air conditioner to blow warm or not so cool air. Call a professional to help you find and fix the leak and add more refrigerant. 
Stalled condenser fan: The condenser fan blows over the condenser coils to help disperse the heat it gathered inside your home. You’ll know your fan has stopped if you CAN’T hear the fan running from the unit outside of your home. Again, you’ll need a professional to fix or replace your fan but knowing is half the battle!

Your AC is wearing out

Like everything in this world, your AC gets old. Problems like a ruptured capacitor or weak compressor can cause your air conditioner to pull more electricity than it should, tripping your circuit breaker.

There could also be a wiring/circuit issue in your home

Yep. Your problem may not be with your AC at all. And if you’ve checked out all of the above, your issue could stem from wiring in your home or the breaker box itself. If you think wiring is the issue, you’ll need to call an electrician to check this one out immediately.

Need an AC professional or electrician?

If you live in the Sarasota Area, contact Cool Today. We’ve got both professional air conditioning repair people and licensed electricians to help you out with this circuit problem.

Posted in: Troubleshooting