Is Your HVAC Unit’s Breaker Tripping? Here's What You Need to Know

Is your AC's breaker tripping? Here's what you need to know. The breaker itself could be the problem. It could be weak, it could need to be replaced. It's possible. I mean, breakers don't last forever, uh, they can fail, they can weaken and start tripping. Um, another cause could be your filter. You should always check your filter every single month, uh, and it's recommended to replace that filter every 30 to 90 days. But definitely check it once a month to make sure it doesn't need to be replaced. If it's past 90 days and you have not replaced it, go ahead and do so. Um, your filter could be causing your breaker to trip. It could be an overworked circuit. Your system could be pulling too much power than the wire for the system can handle. And this could be something like, uh, you know, it's overloaded or it's pulling too much power. Your HVAC unit should be on a circuit by itself. So make sure that is the case. It could be wiring issues. Um, over time, wiring can become, you know, worn, damaged from just normal wear and tear. If you have an older home, you may need to upgrade your wiring to support your unit and your power needs. One thing happens quite a bit is when we replace a unit, um, the wire needs to be, uh, correctly sized or needs to be replaced. We have run into so many situations which the wire size is not correct. Again, that could be causing your system to trip. You don't want it to be too big because if there is a problem, you want it to trip. But you don't want to be so small that it can't actually handle the power of, of the unit. So, uh, again, when you read the instructions, um, and you have the right wire size, it shouldn't be an issue. But wiring issues can cause that. Dirty coils, uh, the condenser coil, uh, it can be pulling, you know, struggling because of dirt, debris um, you know, shrubs, trees, all that could be blocking the coil and cause the unit itself to overheat, and that could cause a breaker to trip. It's trying— you want the unit to be able to breathe. So when you have grass clippings or shrubs or trees right on the unit and it collects too much, uh, that could cause a situation where it overheats or trips the breaker. It could be as, you know, simple as getting a maintenance done by a professional HVAC technician. Something as simple as maintenance could be all you need to fix that problem. Refrigerant leaks— taking the calls, you need to trip the breaker. It's not— if, if not enough refrigerant is in the system it will cause the compressor itself to overheat. So when it overheats, it pulls more power, too much power, and it could trip that breaker. So, uh, a few things that causes your breaker to trip, uh, but regardless, definitely recommend a routine service and check of your system to make sure you're you're good to go. Whether it's, you know, winter, summer, spring, fall, make sure your system is good to go and can handle, uh, what's being— what you're asking it to do. You're asking it to perform, so you want it to perform at, uh, peak capacity, save you the most energy, and prevents problems that can be solved just by a routine service and cleaning your system.