This is the number one call I get when summer hits Northern Utah, and honestly, most of the time the answer is simpler than people expect.
First, check your filter.
I know — it sounds too simple. But I cannot tell you how many times I’ve driven out to a home in Ogden or Roy only to find a filter so clogged it looks like a gray wool blanket. In Weber County and the surrounding desert climate, dust hangs in the air far longer than it does in humid parts of the country. Your filter loads up fast — faster than the package instructions suggest, because those recommendations were written for high-humidity environments. Up here, check your 1” filter every 30 days, not every 90.
When your filter is clogged, your system suffocates. Not enough airflow moves across the evaporator coil — that’s the coil that sits on top of or below your furnace inside the house — and when airflow drops, the coil gets too cold and freezes over. A frozen coil can’t cool your home. Period.
Second, check if your system is actually running.
Go outside and look at your condenser unit — the big box with the fan on top. Is the fan spinning? If you hear a hum but nothing is spinning, you may have a failed capacitor. If the unit is running but air from your vents is warm, that’s a different problem.
Third — your system may just be the wrong size for your home.
I see this constantly in Weber County. A big-name company measures your square footage, punches it into a calculator, and installs a unit. What they don’t account for is window direction, insulation values, ductwork layout, or how heat specifically moves through your home. An oversized air conditioner short-cycles — kicks on, cools briefly, shuts off — and never runs long enough to pull humidity and heat out properly.
If your system is running, your filter is clean, and your home still isn’t cooling — call someone you trust. A good technician will find the problem without trying to sell you a new system before the real diagnosis is done.
By Gregg DeMille, owner of Timber Creek Services in Farr West, Utah.
Need help with this? See AC Repair or call or text (801) 832-5302.