An air conditioning system usually cools a room by absorbing heat from air and then dumping the cooled air into the room. This process is made possible by the fact that as it turns from a liquid to a gas, the air conditioner refrigerant absorbs heat. In this case, the heat it absorbs is usually from the air blowing over the evaporator coils.

Normally, an air conditioning system is designed in such a way that the air blowing over the evaporator coils can provide enough heat not to cause extreme temperature drops in this area. Problems are therefore bound to arise when the system's airflow is restricted.

When the amount of air flowing over the coils is too little, the cooling effect that results from the refrigerant's change of state – from a liquid into a gas – is usually enough to condense any moisture in the air, and then freeze it. This process will lead to frosting at the evaporator coil area, something that will eventually decrease the air conditioner's ability to cool your home since the frosting will form an insulating layer over the coils.

The most effective way of preventing this inefficiency-inducing frosting is to tackle air flow problems that may be plaguing your air conditioning system. Here are some of the things that you may have to look out for.

Dirty air filters

Before air can reach the evaporator coil, it has to pass through the air conditioner's filters. These filters are important since they help to avoid dirt accumulation in the system. They also help to improve the air quality of the air that the system eventually dumps into a home.

However, in the course of doing their work, these filters sometimes get clogged with dirt. This clogging restricts the amount of air that gets into the system, and hence the air flow problems that lead to evaporator coil frosting.

Regularly cleaning your filters will help prevent any clogging problems. You can also make a habit of replacing your air filters every 3 months.

Problematic ductwork

Central air conditioners rely heavily on ductwork to help transfer air to and from the air conditioner. With time, poorly installed ductwork can get disconnected at the joints. Sections of the ductwork can also collapse. Any of these things happening can significantly reduce the amount of air that reaches the air conditioning system's evaporator coils. Reconnecting the ductwork and replacing any collapsed sections will therefore be enough to help solve your coil-frosting problem.

Airflow problems can also occur when improperly sized air ducts are used to supply air to the system. If the air ducts are too narrow to supply enough air to the evaporator coils, frosting will occur. In such a case, completely replacing the ductwork may be the only way to prevent frosting, something that a HVAC company like Homeplace Furnace Duct & Fireplace Cleaning  can help you with.