If we are lucky enough to have a fixed air conditioner at home and we have the budget to turn it on in summer, we may have observed a somewhat ironic phenomenon: On the hottest days it doesn’t work well and it seems that it is difficult for him to reach the ideal temperature at home.
It is something that we can notice first of all as an apparent failure of the devices located outside the house, which They make more noise than usualthey are always on while other days they turn off from time to time, or the split directly expels air at temperatures higher than usual not cooling enough. Where is the problem?
Your air conditioner needs an air conditioner
Well assuming that the installation is done correctly, that there are no gas leaks and that everything works correctly, the problem is probably caused by the ambient heat itself in which the machines outside are working.
It’s something that happens to all electronic devices, that reduce their benefits when they have to operate in an environment with excessive temperature, not being able to dissipate their own internally generated heat. Something similar can happen with air conditioning equipment, although its way of warning us is simply to reduce its performance or stop when they exceed a certain temperature limit operation in the outdoor unit, which is installed on the façade of the house.
And it is that, exceed the optimum operating range of the appliances This causes some models to activate the damage prevention systems and shut down or reduce the capacities of the equipment. At what outside temperature does this happen?
Well, it is something that depends on each specific model, but manufacturers usually include this information in your specifications in any section that refers to the “Operation range”a value that we as users often do not look at as closely as the cooling capacity, electrical consumption or noise level, but which is as or more important than them.
For example, the maximum temperature that the equipment located on the façade can withstand is usually a figure that ranges between 45 and 50 degreesdepending on the range of the air conditioner (higher ranges usually support higher operating temperatures).
Operating temperature range of my Mitsubishi air conditioner
As we can see in the example table taken from the Mitsubishi air conditioning models that I have at home, there is also usually a minimum temperature value and a winter operating range for heat pump models.
In my case the manufacturer tells us that they work from -10 degrees Celsius to +46 degrees CelsiusTherefore, if the outside temperature exceeds 46 ºC, the equipment exceeds the optimal range and will not perform as it should.
What to do to avoid this problem
How can we know if our air conditioning suffers from this problem? Well, if it is a recurring issue every time a heat wave comes, we probably have a clue. We can also find out if After turning it off for a while, when I turn it back on it works fine for a few minutes, until it overheats, before giving problems again.
If we live in a very hot region, it is advisable to check before buying our new air conditioner look at the specifications the recommended temperature ranges and assess whether the equipment we want to install at home will work correctly with the temperatures that usually occur in our area.
If we have already bought it but it has not yet been installed and we are still preparing the house for when the technician comes, or even if we have had it installed for some time and we have encountered this problem of decreased performance, it may be worth it to us choose a better location with orientation to shaded areas and move the outdoor unit so that it is not hit directly by the sun, even if you have to install longer pipes and pay extra.
If the outdoor unit is in an accessible place (for example on the floor of a terrace or patio) and the sun shines directly on it at certain times of the day, we can also try placing some fabric, cardboard or similar on it. that works as an awning to remove a few extra degrees. To do this, these objects should not be placed directly on the equipment, but at a safe distance so that they provide shade but without obstructing your vents.
Finally, as we pointed out in this article with tips to improve performance, it doesn’t hurt to Let’s clean the filters and coils of the outdoor machine once a year. Dirty filters impede air flow, and dirt that sticks to the coils can cause the heat exchanger to operate less efficiently.
Cover image | Carlos Lindner
At Xataka Smart Home | This engineer’s recommendations to get the most out of your air conditioning and not die trying