The team at Mack Morris Heating & Air Conditioning are the pros who work hard to keep you comfortable at home all year long. One way that we do this is, of course, by providing prompt and effective services that keep your HVAC system in great condition. The other way that we help our customers is by keeping them informed on how their systems work so they know when something is wrong and they need to call us.
On that note, today we want to discuss your air conditioning system’s refrigerant. We know that you probably don’t have the tools necessary to check your refrigerant level, but that doesn’t mean you can’t stay alert for warning signs that the level is low.
How to Tell You Are Low on Refrigerant
If you are running low on refrigerant, you don’t always need a specific tool to tell you that you have a problem. Often your system is going to produce a variety of different issues that will alert you to the problem. Be aware of some of the warning signs we have listed here:
- Short cycling: Low refrigerant levels are going to affect your air conditioner’s ability to do its job. This may show up as interrupted cooling cycles, a problem known as short-cycling. This may be because your system overheats because there isn’t enough refrigerant to absorb the heat in the air being passed across the evaporator coil.
- An icy evaporator cool: Have you checked your evaporator coil and noticed that it is collecting a layer of ice? If so, it could be due to low refrigerant levels. If your system can’t properly absorb heat, it will end up cooling the air directly around the coil which will eventually cause the coil to freeze.
- No cool air: If you notice that your air conditioner is continuously running but there is no cool air being pumped into your home, it could be due to low refrigerant levels. No refrigerant means your system can’t absorb heat and create cold air.
“Doesn’t Refrigerant Get Used Up?”
We want to take a moment to address this common misconception. All too many people think that refrigerant is a fuel source like gas or electricity when it is really a transfer medium. What this means is that it most certainly should not get used up.
The reality is that your refrigerant level will only get low when you have a leak. And a refrigerant leak is something that requires prompt air conditioning repair in Charlottesville, VA before it causes a full system breakdown.
If You Have R-22 Refrigerant
One last thing to take note of is what type of refrigerant you have in your system. If you have an AC unit that still uses R-22 refrigerant and you have a leak, it may be better to just opt for a replacement. This is because R-22 is no longer in production, making a recharge for this type of refrigerant increasingly expensive and, eventually, impossible.
We can’t control the weather outside of your home, but we can control the weather inside your home. When you need an air conditioning system repair, contact Mack Morris Heating & Air Conditioning.