Can Low Voltage Damage Air Conditioner | Expert Guide

Can low voltage damage air conditioner? Unlike other electrical outlets, air conditioners can hardly bear the sudden change in voltage. Particularly, the low voltage affects their functioning and may damage them. So, it’s not wise to keep the ACs running on even low voltage without proper management. Though all the AC manufacturing brands claim the inbuilt protection system, they never rely on such claims as they hardly function properly. Several additional tools have been built to make the functioning of the AC effective even in low voltage conditions. 

So, along with the routine tuning and service of the AC, consider this thing too. In the later section, we’ll break down some most obvious side effects of low voltage on the ACs. 

How does Low Voltage Affect the Functioning of AC?

Low voltage affects the running of the AC. Several issues are associated with running your AC on a dropped voltage. Here are some!

More Electricity Consumption

The AC will normally work without any additional electricity consumption at a normal voltage. However, your AC will generate more load on the electrical circuit to function at a lower voltage. This may cause any serious issues. 

High Temperature of the Motor

Another effect of the low voltage is the high temperature of the AC compressor motor. Each 10% drop of voltage will result in a 10% to 15% increase in temperature. This increased temperature may cause damage to the motor. 

Burning of the Winding

As mentioned above, the dropping voltage will increase the compressor motor’s temperature. This may affect the winding of the motor. Sometimes, this may result in the burning of the motor. This situation will lead to the loss of both time and money. 

Effect on Functioning

Though some ACs, like window AC, can start on even low voltage, however, they will fail to do this 100% at a low voltage. This will cause the useless consumption of electricity. 

How to Maintain the Voltage?

Here are some methods to keep the voltage optimal as per the need of the AC. 

Keep Checking the Voltage

It’s good to keep checking the voltage of the electrical circuit. This is good for maintaining the health of your AC. Particularly, such a practice will be effective when you doubt the voltage. 

Use of Additional Surge Protection

Although all of the AC brands claim that they have inserted a surge protection system in their outlets, they never pay heed to the claims of the AC manufacturing brands. Instead, consider inserting an additional surge protection system to make your AC secure against the low voltage. 

Use of Voltage Stabilizer

Certain stabilizers can help in maintaining the required voltage. So, use any reliable voltage stabilizer to enhance the functionality of the AC. 

Conclusion

Voltage dropping may affect the AC of your house or office badly. This may result in any severe and irreparable loss. So, keep checking the voltage when you’re using such a sensitive electrical outlet. Also, certain preventive measurements can work for this purpose. Adopt any of them as per your requirement.