With an AC, freezing would be good and would produce cold air.
Unfortunately, this is not the case.
A central air conditioner works by controlling temperature, pressure, and airflow. It is possible for the refrigerant system that creates the cold air to overclock and freeze itself, without actually making your air colder. The air conditioner will either blow warm or cool air or not at all if it is frozen. An AC relies on a coil full of extremely cold refrigerant. Refrigerants need warm air to blow across them when they are activated. The air is cooled and the coils are kept warm enough so that they do not freeze over. In a straight cool system, your indoor coil removes heat from the inside and transfers it to the outdoor coil which pushes it outside. Therefore, your outdoor unit feels like it blows noticeably hot air, hotter than the outside temperature. The system pulls heat from your indoor air and transfers it outdoors. Through the refrigerant circuit, it manipulates pressure. But if something stops the warm air from blowing over the coils or if the pressure inside the coils is wrong, then the coils can become too cold and can quickly freeze. Humidity makes the freezing problem worse because ice begins to form on the coils and begins to insulate them with cold, so any warm air cannot reach the coils to warm them. Whenever there is moisture in the air, ice builds up more quickly. Lack of airflow is the single most common reason for your AC to freeze. It can be caused by a number of malfunctions, ranging from the blower motor to the air intake. Your air conditioner will begin to freeze up if anything in the airflow system prevents warm air from flowing over the coils while the compressor continues to run. Running without an air filter, using a low-quality filter, or not changing your filter is another risk. AC refrigerant coils are often damp due to the condensation of moist air on the cold surface. Dusty air blowing past damp coils forms a thick blanket. This dust acts as an insulator, trapping the cold inside the coils themselves, creating an excessive amount of freezing cold. Additionally, more moisture builds upon the dust, causing the ice-box effect. Lastly, there is the refrigerant. Because of how your air conditioner manages pressure, the amount of refrigerant inside your coils is critical. The “flashing” occurs too early if there isn’t enough refrigerant in the system. Flashing creates enough cold at that moment to condense moisture on the coils, which instantly freezes. The earlier the flashing occurs, the more ice builds up until it fills the AC and creeps up the copper pipes. This is why it is so important to maintain the proper refrigerant levels in your AC system.