What Air Conditioner Noises Mean and How To Fix Loud Air Conditioners

When your house is talking to you, listen. A loud air conditioner is not just annoying; it means that there could very well be something wrong with your HVAC unit — either the compressor, the ducts, and/or vents. Even if the temperature in your house feels fine, there may be pockets of air in various rooms that are hot or cold due to lack of proper ventilation. Depending on how they interact with the thermostat, you could be funneling more money than you need to for conditioning in rooms that don’t need it. With Arizona electricity bills skyrocketing in the summer, we don’t need to spend more for less quality. Here’s what your air conditioner noise means.

Banging

If you hear banging, that means there is a loose or broken part somewhere in your air conditioning unit. As such, your air conditioner noise may create thumps. This is most likely going to reside in your compressor — the large bulky boxy unit typically located just outside of your house. The banging can either be due to your fans hitting against something or that your system is in need or some tightening or replacing. If you’re unsure of how to dig into your compressor system to investigate loose or broken parts, feel free to reach out to an HVAC professional to investigate.

Clicking

Clicking noises are more electrical in nature — that’s an odd phrase because technically your whole HVAC unit runs on electricity but the clicking noises may be due to the result of your electrical control malfunctioning or your control panel not operating as it should. Not only can this grow to cause a lot of damage to your whole home unit, but it could also potentially create a large fire hazard if left untreated. This is definitely an air conditioning noise you’ll want to make sure is fixed.

Clanking

A very annoying noise from a loud air conditioner unit can be the clanking ringing from your compressor. A lot of the issues from a clanking air conditioner system are similar to the banging noises; however, there is an emphasis on a failing part in which you will need to investigate a complete replacement or replacement of parts. This may especially be prevalent in the motors — these motors hitting something they shouldn’t may be causing a loud air conditioner noise that they shouldn’t be.

Screeching/Screaming

You should check your air conditioning if there is a screeching or screaming noise. This is one of the more serious issues as it means your compressor is on its very, very last legs. If you’ve ever opened a door and heard a screeching noise, you know that that means something is seriously wrong. But take that idea and apply it to a condenser — with a multitude of moving parts spinning fast and dangerously so. Screaming indicates that your air conditioner is being pushed beyond its limits. Even if ‘past its limit’ is still not cool enough for the home, that means that your loud air conditioner may need serious fixes or total replacements.

Buzzing

You’ll want to be careful of buzzing noises because they can mean a number of things. Not only do they indicate that perhaps your condenser unit has a loose or unstable fan, but there may also be issues with loose screw and bolts, These electrical vibrations may even be due to the result of unclean condenser coils — coils that helps remove heat from the refrigerant aka help your AC unit cool your air. This may require that you chance filters to help minimize loud air conditioners.

If You Have Any Questions,

Our Donley Heroes are here to save the day! Our HVAC experts can diagnose the bothersome air conditioner noises so that you can rest easy and comfortable! Reach out today to see how we can help you!