This is a good question, and one that needs to be answered quickly. Refrigerant leaks are not fun to encounter, and they can spell disaster for an air conditioner. While homeowners like to think that they can just call up their neighborhood technician to get the refrigerant recharged, it’s just not that simple.
Your air conditioner doesn’t run on refrigerant. Refrigerant isn’t a fuel like gasoline is in a car. Your AC relies on refrigerant to cool temperatures, but it runs on electricity, which is why it’s so important that your refrigerant leak gets patched up. An AC is not supposed to lose any refrigerant in any of the years that it’s functioning.
So, if you keep reading and suspect that you’ve got a refrigerant leak, then reach out to us for AC services in Montgomery County. We can help get that leak patched up and make sure your system is good to go for the future.
Signs of an AC Leaking Refrigerant
If your air conditioner is leaking refrigerant, the good news is that you should be able to notice the problem pretty quickly. We’ll mention some easy ways to detect a refrigerant leak, but we also want homeowners to invest in maintenance services so the undetectable problems get addressed by a professional in the slower seasons.
- Hissing and Bubbling. This is one of the most obvious signs that an AC is leaking refrigerant because it’s the sound a refrigerant line will make when it’s leaking! The hissing noise is usually gaseous refrigerant escaping from your refrigerant line and into the environment. The bubbling can be heard because air is starting to make its way into your refrigerant line, especially in the areas where the refrigerant is in liquid form. Basically, this is never a good noise and needs to be addressed by a professional ASAP!
- Poor Efficiency. When your air conditioner has less refrigerant to work with, it’s going to struggle with providing cool temperatures at an affordable price. This means higher monthly energy bills. If you see this trend, make sure you call our team for repairs.
- Lukewarm Temperatures. Refrigerant is the lifeblood of your air conditioner, and it’s absolutely necessary for the cooling process. If refrigerant is leaking from the system, it could be represented in lukewarm temperatures and an inability for your system to adequately cool your home.
- Short Cycling. Short cycling is a term we use to refer to when an air conditioner runs in short, frequent cycles instead of the longer, more complete cooling cycles. This is a problem because it’s stressing certain components of the system and causing way more wear and tear than your AC should be receiving.
We Can Help!
Refrigerant leaks aren’t that tough of a problem to repair, and they can easily be dealt with by a professional. But they’re not so simple that just anyone can patch them up and deal with them. We urge you to call our team so we can talk about the damage that’s been done and solutions that will last long into the future.
Call Carney Plumbing Heating & Cooling today to fix your AC’s refrigerant leak.