AC Not Cooling Properly in Dhaka? 9 Real Reasons & What To Do

This is the single most frequent cause of poor cooling — and also the easiest to fix. In Dhaka, dust and pollution clog AC filters much faster than in cleaner cities. A dirty filter blocks airflow, forcing the AC to work harder while delivering less cold air. Your electricity bill goes up, your room stays warm, and the AC lifespan drops.

How to check: Open the indoor unit’s front panel and pull out the filter. If it looks grey or brown and you can barely see light through it — clean it now.

Refrigerant is the chemical that actually absorbs heat from your room and releases it outside. When the gas level drops — due to a leak or slow seepage — your AC can run all day and still blow warm air. You might also notice ice forming on the copper pipes near the indoor unit.

Signs of low gas: Warm air even on full cool mode, hissing or bubbling sounds, ice on the refrigerant pipe, higher-than-usual electricity bills.

A 1-ton AC trying to cool a 300 sq ft room in Dhaka’s 40°C summer is always going to lose the battle. Many people buy a smaller AC to save money on the purchase price — and end up spending far more on electricity and repairs later. Oversized units also short-cycle, turning on and off frequently without properly dehumidifying the room.

General guideline for Dhaka homes:

• Up to 120 sq ft: 0.75 – 1 Ton
• 120–180 sq ft: 1 – 1.5 Ton
• 180–240 sq ft: 1.5 – 2 Ton
• 240+ sq ft or commercial: 2 Ton or more

The evaporator coil (inside unit) and condenser coil (outside unit) are where heat exchange actually happens. When these coils get coated in dirt, dust, or mold, they lose their ability to transfer heat efficiently. The result: your AC runs longer, costs more, and cools less.

Dhaka’s dusty air and open-building construction sites make coil fouling a real and regular issue. Most homeowners only clean the filter — the coils get ignored for years.

Sometimes the problem is surprisingly simple: the thermostat is set to “Fan Only” or “Dry” mode instead of “Cool.” The fan runs but no cooling happens. Other times, a faulty thermistor (temperature sensor) confuses the unit into thinking the room is already cool — so it reduces cooling capacity prematurely.

Your AC may be perfectly fine — but if the cold air is leaking out under doors, through gaps around window frames, or through false ceilings into open spaces, you’re essentially air-conditioning the entire building. This is very common in older Dhaka flats and commercial buildings.

High-ceiling rooms, rooms near staircases, or rooms with large west-facing windows also suffer disproportionately during summer afternoons.

The compressor is the heart of your AC system. When it starts to fail, cooling capacity drops sharply — the unit may blow lukewarm air even on the lowest temperature setting. A failing compressor often makes a rattling or grinding noise and may cause the AC to trip the circuit breaker.

This is not a DIY problem. Compressor issues require expert diagnosis because the fault could be electrical, mechanical, or due to refrigerant contamination — each requiring a different solution.

The outdoor condenser unit releases the heat removed from your room. If it’s blocked by a wall on multiple sides, crammed into a tight enclosure, covered with shade netting, or surrounded by other outdoor units without clearance — it cannot release heat efficiently. The result is reduced cooling in your room.

This is surprisingly common in dense Dhaka apartment buildings where outdoor units get installed wherever there’s space, without thinking about airflow clearances.

Dhaka’s electricity supply is notorious for voltage fluctuations. Most ACs require a stable supply of around 220–240V to run at full capacity. Low voltage (brownouts) forces the compressor to draw higher current while producing lower output — meaning less cooling, more electricity waste, and faster compressor wear.

Frequent power cuts followed by surges also damage control boards and capacitors over time.