The thermostat is on the wrong setting. The setting of the thermostat in your home may be easily overlooked when it comes to troubleshooting an issue with your air conditioning. Hot air blowing through your vents could be a simple mistake of the heat being turned back on. Simply turn your thermostat to cool and you should be back in business! If your thermostat runs on batteries, make sure to check and replace them when needed. One of the other reasons you might have hot air when you turn your air conditioning on is that your thermostat is connected incorrectly. If you have recently replaced or upgraded your thermostat, it is possible that some wires were crossed during installation. You may have air conditioning coming on when your turn on the heat, and heat coming on when you turn on the air conditioning. In either of these cases, it is a pretty simple fix.

A breaker could have tripped. Checking your breaker box is another fix that you may be able to diagnose yourself. HVAC units use more power than almost every other major appliance in your home. In areas where the power demand is high, the circuit breaker may have shut off power to your HVAC unit as a safety precaution. It is possible that your outdoor unit may not have power, while your indoor unit still does and is blowing hot air into your home. Check your breaker box and flip the tripped breaker, so that you can get your outdoor unit blowing cold air again.

Refrigerant is low. Another common cause of an air conditioner malfunctioning is low refrigerant or coolant. There could be a leak that is caused by any number of things. Faulty assembly, loose fittings, or valves can all lead to an issue with your unit’s refrigerant. This would lead to hot air being blown into your home. AC refrigerant can be very dangerous. Coolant issues should be properly diagnosed and handled by a professional. The best way to prevent something like this from happening would be to have regularly scheduled maintenance. UGI Heating, Cooling & Plumbing has a great line of service plans to keep things running as they should.

Dirty Air Filters and Evaporator Coils. Air filters help to keep dust and debris out of your home, but they need to be replaced regularly to ensure your system is working at its peak. When they are neglected, it can hinder the performance of your air conditioner. When ignored for extended periods of time, they can cause your evaporator coils to get clogged. Not having enough airflow will not allow for proper cooling and operation. This buildup can cause your coils to freeze up. While it may seem like frozen coils should not result in hot air, it does. Because the coils are not functioning as they should, it will cause warm air from the motor to be blown into your home.