Causes of a Home Air Conditioner Kicking the Breaker

Voltage

• If the air conditioner circuit breaker is not fit to handle the air conditioner power load, it will continuously trip the breaker and the unit will fail to run. To determine if a breaker is tripped, you can open the breaker box and examine the state of the air conditioner breaker switch. If the switch is set to the center or “Off” position, the breaker is tripped and the electrical circuit is open, preventing electricity from flowing to the unit. The breaker might require an upgrade by a technician to maintain a closed circuit for electricity to reach the air conditioner.

Devices

• Too many devices plugged into the air conditioner power outlet might overload the breaker and cause it to trip. To be certain, the only electrical device that should be plugged into an outlet that controls the air conditioner is the air conditioner. Dedicate one outlet to the air conditioner unit; all other devices should be unplugged from the unit’s outlet and from the outlets that share the AC breaker. In fact, you might dedicate one breaker to the air conditioner outlet alone.

Lightning

• A severe thunderstorm could produce lightning, which might produce a strike that will knock out the electricity in your home. When electricity is restored, to prevent power surges from reaching electronic components in the home, one or more breakers might trip. After the tripped breaker is reset, the fan operates normally unless the air conditioner plug safety mechanism is also tripped. To reset the plug mechanism, press the “Reset” button on the plug and turn the unit on. Furthermore, the unit’s internal compressor also contains a power surge protection device, which prevents the compressor from running for three minutes after activation.

Power Surge

• Problems outside the scope of the circuit breaker might be at play if the voltage requirements of the air conditioner are met yet the breaker continues to trip. The power source to the home might be compromised, causing power surges to flow to the breaker box, tripping the breakers. If the cause of the tripped breaker isn’t determined inside the home, a technician should be called to address the power problem outside of the home.