Mostly it will be due to a dirty air filter.
Ice on air conditioner pipe outside.
Low airflow over the evaporator coil.
As mentioned previously it s important for your air conditioner to have enough airflow and refrigerant for the air conditioning process to take place correctly.
So what s the deal.
You also have a hair dryer blowing hot air over the cup.
Standby for a small high school physics lesson.
Ice can form on your air conditioner or heat pump in any weather if the refrigerant inside it falls below freezing.
The end result is an ice bound air conditioner that can t work properly.
Obviously the ice would melt after you add ice into the cup.
Meanwhile you can perform the steps mentioned above to get rid of ice that has formed on the ac.
Imagine you have a cup of water and every hour you add 5 ice cubes into it.
So if you have ice building on your ac refrigerant lines you have one of the following 2 problems.
Now imagine that you put something in between the hair dryer and the cup while you re still adding ice to the cup.
Is your home air conditioning unit suddenly not cooling and do you see ice on your outdoor pipes.
Chances are your indoor unit s evaporator coil is frozen solid and cold liquid refrigerant is flowing to the outside unit through the refrigerant line which is why it s covered in ice.
Finding ice on your air conditioner pipes is a sure sign that you have air conditioning problems and most likely need air conditioning repair below is a list of things to do to see if you can fix it yourself or if you need to call an experienced air conditioning.
If you have ice on your outdoor unit turn your system off check for problems and contact a professional to repair any damage.
Ice on air conditioner pipes outside is one such situation.
If not a trained ac technician can come to your rescue.
Restricted airflow over evaporator coils.
Now ice build up on your unit can happen if you happen to be running your ac in sub 65 degree weather but we ll assume you aren t.
The joule thomson effect how your air conditioner freezes up.
A lack of airflow caused by an obstruction in the air conditioner or a blower fan.
Your outside air conditioning refrigerant line is covered in ice which seems crazy in arizona heat.
The cooling line for your air conditioner will run directly from the ac unit outside to the furnace fan and will usually be covered in black insulation.
Ice on your hvac unit wastes energy and it can cause damage or failure.
We don t need to go too in depth so bear with me but understanding this principle is the key to figuring out why your air conditioner is freezing up.
Unfortunately ice anywhere on your ac unit is definitely not normal.
The joule thomson effect is a principle in thermodynamics which states that if everything else is kept constant.
Ice on your outside air conditioner pipe is actually a sign of 2 ac problems.
The first step in repairing your air conditioning unit and preventing freezing is to inspect the cold air line for any tears or damage to the insulation.