Low Refrigerant: A Common Cause of AC Repair

For most people, their air conditioners are a bit of mystery. The ducts of their home push out cool air to keep them comfortable during warm spells, but just how these machines operate is something they’re only vaguely aware of – if at all. Of course, not everyone can be an expert on air conditioners, which is why you’ll need to call in trained AC technicians to take care of your system when anything goes wrong. In this post, we’ll give you some information on how your air conditioner uses refrigerant too cool the air in your home, and why low refrigerant leads to trouble.

“Refrigerant” refers to the chemical that circulates through your AC to facilitate the heat exchange necessary to bring you cooled air. The refrigerant moves heat to the outside and brings cold to the inside. In the early days of air conditioning, refrigerant was often toxic or flammable chemicals such as ammonia, but today’s systems use safe mixtures such as R-410A. This refrigerant changes from a hot gas to a cool liquid as it travels through the components of your AC.

The refrigerant cycle is a closed and sealed loop, and the refrigerant does not get used up as it goes through the stages of evaporation and condensation. If nothing goes wrong with your air conditioning, you won’t lose any of the refrigerant inside, which is referred to as its “charge.”

But if your AC suffers damage or wear and tear, the refrigerant can leak and lower the charge. Your air conditioner will continue to cool the air, but the coils will become over cooled. This can lead to frozen indoor coils, which will no longer be able dissipate the heat in your system.

This is not a problem you should attempt to fix yourself. A trained technician can come to your home and use leak detectors to discover where the break is that has drained the vital refrigerant. After that, the technician will use sealant to fix the leak and add in more coolant to bring the charge back up to its original level. After the technician is finished, your air conditioner should be back to providing you with the cool temperature you desire.

When it comes to your options for getting an AC repair in Denver, Bell Plumbing and Heating is one of the best choices. We’ve been family-owned and operated since 1926 and can provide the personal service your AC needs when it loses refrigerant.