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Serving the South Puget Sound and Western Washington Areas Since 1976

Serving the South Puget Sound and Southwest Washington Areas Since 1976

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Sunset Air Blog

How a Bad Capacitor Can Affect Your Air Conditioning System

Does your air conditioning system suffer from intermittent start up? Does it fail to start up at all? As you know all too well, your air conditioning runs on electrical energy and it needs a steady supply in order to operate effectively and efficiently. During the heat and humidity of an Olympia, WA summer, you need to have an air conditioner that works well day-in and day-out no matter what the weather brings. And that kind of reliability requires that all of the components work well together. One of the most important, but overlooked, components is the capacitor. In today’s post, we’d like to focus on what this part is and how it can affect your air conditioning system when it doesn’t work properly. If that’s the case, call Sunset Air for professional air conditioning repair service in Olympia, WA. We are here to help.

A capacitor is a small box that functions a bit like a car battery. Air conditioners require a lot of electricity to operate and much of that initial surge is required in order to fire up the various components to initiate the refrigerant cycle. This requires more initial electricity that your circuit breaker panel allows for, which is why a capacitor is installed. It gives the system an extra boost during start up, and then it recharges and awaits the next start up. However, if something goes wrong with your capacitor, then it can create problems with your AC. If your AC won’t start up, then there are a couple things you should do before calling for professional repair. First, check to make sure that the thermostat is calling for cooling. Then check it again (you’d be surprised!). If that doesn’t work, then make sure that the circuit breaker panel has not merely tripped. A bad capacitor can also cause intermittent start up, which can be especially frustrating.

Both of these problems can also be caused by electrical failure or by thermostat fault, so it’s important to make sure that you get your system diagnosed by a professional. Call Sunset Air today for comprehensive air conditioning repair services in Olympia, WA.

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