{"id":693,"date":"2018-07-09T11:00:45","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T15:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aircreations.net\/blog\/?p=693"},"modified":"2018-07-06T09:03:31","modified_gmt":"2018-07-06T13:03:31","slug":"ac-does-too-much-short-cycling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aircreations.net\/blog\/air-conditioning-service\/ac-does-too-much-short-cycling\/","title":{"rendered":"When a Good AC Does Too Much: Short-Cycling"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"tools-on-ac-unit\"How can an AC do too<\/em> much? You can always lower the thermostat, right?<\/p>\n

Well, this is true if you don\u2019t want your home to be too cold. And if your air conditioner was correctly sized for the house, adjusting the thermostat to a comfortable level is all you need to do.<\/p>\n

The problem we\u2019re talking about in this post is when your AC works too hard in another way. It\u2019s called short-cycling<\/em>, and it leads to high utility bills, uneven cooling, and eventually a busted air conditioner that needs to be retired before it\u2019s time.<\/p>\n

The short-cycling basics<\/h3>\n

Short-cycling<\/em> is when an air conditioning system becomes trapped in its start-up cycle and doesn\u2019t complete a full cooling cycle. The compressor turns on to start the cooling cycle and circulate refrigerant. It then shuts down early\u2014and turns back on again a short time later, restarting the process.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re probably accustomed to the sound of the compressor turning on: it\u2019s the deep whirring noise that starts while the fans are already running. If you hear this sound multiple times an hour, it means the AC has started to short-cycle.<\/p>\n

Why short-cycling is trouble<\/h3>\n

The simple reason short-cycling isn\u2019t something you want the AC to do is that it makes the system work much harder than it should, all to deliver subpar results. An air conditioner consumes the most electrical power when the compressor starts up. Ideally, the compressor should start, run for as long as necessary to complete the cooling cycle and lower the household temperature to the setting on the thermostat, then cycle down. If it\u2019s short-cycling, it eats up much more energy because of all the extra start-ups. Plus, it isn\u2019t staying on long enough to send cooled air around the house. This means:<\/p>\n