Derek ColeGM, Simmons One Hour Heating & Air · AI HVAC Answers

Capacitor Explained: Keep Your AC Running Smoothly! #shorts

29 Dec 2025 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

0:53

A short, single-speaker explainer by Derek Cole about HVAC capacitors. The speaker distinguishes single vs dual capacitors (roles: compressor vs blower fan), uses an analogy comparing a capacitor to spinning a basketball to illustrate how it keeps a motor running, and gives practical maintenance advice: check capacitors during regular maintenance and replace if readings are low. He states failures typically occur under extreme temperatures (around 95°F or 15°F) and invites viewer comments about personal experiences.

Chapters

First of all, this is a single capacitor. Now your system has a single capacitor and a dual capacitor. The difference is one's for the compressor. This is for the blower fan. So what does it actually do? Well, I like to kind of relate this to. Have you ever seen someone spin like a basketball on their finger? You notice they keep doing this to keep you spinning? Well, to me, the ball is the motor. This is the capacitor. That expense can cause you to be uncomfortable if it stops working. A great way to check capacitors. It's on a regular maintenance. That's one of those items. If it's reading too low and needs to be replaced, we can do it on a maintenance. But it's not going to break until it's 95 degrees or 15 degrees. It's not going to break when it's, you know, 75 and nice outside. It's going to break when it's a problem. Has this little thing caused you problems before? Leave a comment below and tell me your story.