Refrigerant or freon is the lifeblood of your air conditioning unit. Therefore, when the refrigerant levels go down, your unit won't cool your home as it should. Unfortunately, it may not be easy to determine if your unit has low refrigerant. This is because the signs of low refrigerant are similar to other air conditioner problems. However, before you call in an air conditioning repair technician to refill refrigerant in your unit, look out for the following three indicators.
1. Your AC runs but doesn't cool your home
Your AC's refrigerant absorbs heat from the indoor air and transfers it outside. Therefore, if your unit is low on refrigerant, it won't be able to absorb enough heat from your indoor space. This means that your system will run nonstop but never cool your home. You will also notice the air blowing through your supply vents is warmer. However, warm air blowing from the vents can be caused by a clogged AC filter, which prevents your unit from pulling in warm air from your home. To determine if a low refrigerant level is causing your unit not to cool your home, consult a knowledgeable AC repair expert.
2. Ice is building up on your refrigerant line
If you notice ice building up on the refrigerant line of your air conditioning unit, then your AC is most likely low on refrigerant. This happens because the evaporator coil gets cold and causes the refrigerant to flow back. Therefore, the surrounding moisture will freeze. When this happens, you need to get an air conditioning repair specialist before the refrigerant moves to the compressor unit. In such a situation, the refrigerant will damage your compressor, which may cost you more in repairs. In some cases, you may even have to replace your unit.
3. You can hear a bubbling or hissing noise
A low AC refrigerant means that there is a leak in your refrigerant line. While small refrigerant leaks may be silent, a large leak may cause your unit to make a faint bubbling or hissing sound when running. If you can hear these sounds, don't forget to request your AC repair expert to fix the leak as they top off the refrigerant. If you don't repair the leak, your refrigerant levels will still go down again. To fix the leak, your technician will first evacuate the remaining refrigerant, find and repair the leak, test if the refrigerant is still leaking, and then refill your unit with the right amount of freon.
Your AC is an essential component of your home. Therefore, if you suspect that your unit is low on refrigerant, ensure that you get an experienced air conditioning repair technician to address this issue.
Share8 November 2021
Every summer, I agonized over energy bills that would shoot into the stratosphere as a result of my efforts to keep cool in the heat. Every time I turned the temperature down, my bills increased. This summer, I decided to take some of the control over my energy bill back. I installed reflective film on my windows that reduced the amount of light and heat coming into the house. I started serving more cold meals or asking my husband to barbecue outside, so that my air conditioner didn't have to compete with the hot stove, and I started doing laundry at night to reduce appliance heat in the house at peak times. I also had ceiling fans installed. So far, the difference in my bill has been tremendous. This blog is a way for me to explore other ways to reduce energy drain during the summer months.