First off, I know it’s not time to start using the AC just yet (I don’t live in Florida or southern California), but I wanted to address this problem way ahead of time.
Back in the summer of 2016 (when this problem started), I seem to have noticed that the AC in my house would have a delayed start when it powers up.
Here’s a rundown of what happens when a delay occurs. First, I’d hear a somewhat loud AC buzz, and then the air would start circulating from the ceiling vents scattered throughout the house. From my experience, the delay can be as short as ~5 seconds to about as long as 20 seconds or so; and in some cases, there’s no delay at all.
Thankfully no damage was done by the AC in 2016. During the summer of 2017, the same thing happened, but, once again, no damage was done, thankfully.
But the delayed startup, especially the super long delay, makes me worry that it could start a fire at any moment. I say this because I saw a YouTube video of a building’s fire alarm going off due to an air conditioner catching fire or something like that (I have the link to that video saved somewhere, but I’m too lazy to go and search for it) – well, at least according to the description of that video.
Unfortunately, I have no idea how long that air conditioner has been installed. For all I know, it may have been installed when the house was originally built (meaning that it would have been in use for about 30 years since the house was built at around 1988 or so). Or it could have been a replacement. I’ve only been living in this house since sometime in 1997. But even with that in mind, my earliest memory of hearing that AC was sometime in the early 2000s.
Could it be time to replace the AC? Since it’s too cold to use the AC, what can be done in the meantime?