If your air conditioner has low refrigerant levels, that can be a major problem. Many homeowners think that low refrigerant levels only affect cooling. So if your home is so comfortable, why worry? But low refrigerant levels actually mean that you have a refrigerant leak.
And leaking refrigerant can damage surrounding areas of your AC and your home, even having negative impacts on your family. If you suspect that you have low refrigerant levels, it’s time to schedule central air conditioning repair in Port St. Lucie, FL. You can keep reading to learn more about why low refrigerant levels can mean trouble for your air conditioner.
Why Is My Refrigerant Level Low?
There is a common misconception that your refrigerant levels get used up over the life of your air conditioner and need to be refilled. However, this is incorrect. Your air conditioner has a refrigerant charge and the refrigerant will remain in the line and continue recirculating for the life of your air conditioner as long as there is not a leak. The only way to have low refrigerant levels is to have a leak.
Identifying a Refrigerant Leak
You can identify a refrigerant leak in a few ways. The first is by holding your hand up to an air vent in your home while a cooling cycle is on. The air blowing out of your vents should feel specifically cold. Cold air has to mix with the warmer air in your home to lower the temperature. If the air feels less than cold, then you need to schedule a repair appointment.
It’s also a red flag if you hear hissing or bubbling sounds coming from your AC. Depending on whether the refrigerant is in its liquid or gas form, it will make a hissing or bubbling sound as it leaks out. It is very likely that you have a refrigerant leak when you hear one of these sounds.
When refrigerant levels are too low, there is not enough cooling ability to lower the temperature in your home. Your AC will continue to run and blow air across the condenser coils, but the temperature will not lower enough to make an impact inside your home.
Addressing a Refrigerant Leak
The good news is, a refrigerant leak is usually a pretty easy thing to fix as long as you catch it early. Allowing a refrigerant leak to continue on can cause other damage to your air conditioner, which means a more extensive and costly repair job. But if you catch a refrigerant leak early, our team simply needs to repair or replace the portion of the line where there is a leak and then recharge your refrigerant levels so you have a fresh start.
Contact Mechanical Air Conditioning for your central air conditioning needs. Schedule an appointment today for AC service.
