What to Do if Your Air Conditioner Breaks in the Middle of the Night

An air conditioner not blowing cold air is a problem for Phoenix homeowners, but one that is far worse if your system breaks down after business hours. Here are strategies you can use while waiting for your trusted Phoenix HVAC experts, Howard Air, to arrive.

A/C Broke in the Early Hours of the Morning

If it’s 3:00 a.m. on a summer’s morning and your air conditioner suddenly stopped working, here’s what to do:

Step 1: Keep the Cool Air You Do Have

With your central air conditioner not working, try these survival tips:

1. Keep your house closed up, curtains drawn, during the day to preserve the cool air you have.
2. After checking that the Phoenix night temperature is lower than your home’s temperature, open all windows, especially windows on opposite sides of your home to enable cross ventilation.
3. Ensure everyone drinks plenty of fluids to stay hydrated.
4. Arise before dawn to close up the house and preserve the cool night air in your home.

Step 2: Shut Down Fans Immediately

Fans only cool people. They add a bit of heat from their motors to the room temperature. Only use ceiling fans and desk fans in rooms where people are struggling to sleep or stay cool.

Point window fans to blow air out of your open windows. The draft pulls air in from other windows and pushes hot air out.

With desk fans, put a pan of ice in front of each fan. The fan will blow across the ice. Eventually, two things will happen:

1. The ice will melt, meaning heat from the room has transferred into the melting ice.
2. The room temperature will drop a bit.

Step 3: Going Back to Sleep

Getting to sleep in hot weather is tough, but humans have done it for thousands of years. Today, you still have technology available even with your air conditioner not working. Try these:

1. Stick your cotton sheets in a plastic bag and then into the freezer for a half-hour before making your bed and lying in it. The first few minutes will be cool and comfortable, and that may be enough to help you nod off.
2. Put some dry towels over your mattress, then the fitted sheet. Rinse and wring out a top sheet. The cool water will wick away heat from your body.

Call Howard Air 24/7

Remember to call the leaders in HVAC Phoenix customers have come to rely on, Howard Air, in the morning. Howard Air looks forward to helping you with central air conditioner problems large and small.

Our NATE-certified technicians arrive equipped with more than $40,000 in parts and supplies, ready to repair your system promptly. Contact Howard Air today at (623) 201-5153 and keep your cool tonight.