Three Signs You Have A Refrigerant Leak
First off, it's helpful to know why you don't want a refrigerant leak. If you have a refrigerant leak, the air conditioning system isn't going to be able to blow cold air since this what cools the air that is passing through it since it evaporates the warm air that is drawn into the system before it is released into the home. For this reason, the refrigerant is one of the most important components that make up your AC system. Unfortunately, though, refrigerant leaks and it's a fairly common problem, but easily fixed. Here are three signs that you might have a refrigerant leak:
- Ice on the Coil: When you inspect the inside of the condenser, which you should do on a regular basis, you may notice ice on the coil. If you do, this means that there is a leak. Once that ice starts building up on the coil, it can insulate the coil, thus making your AC system have to work harder to push hot air to the outside of your home. You can remove the ice with a hair dryer, but then you should hire professionals to repair the leak.
- Air is Not Cool: If the air blowing into your home is not cool, but instead feels more lukewarm, then there's probably a refrigerant leak. This is because the refrigerant probably isn't pulling the warm air out of the system, but instead, because the levels of refrigerant is low, it is allowing the warm air to be pulled through the system and into your home. You can notice the temperature of the air by putting your hand up to one of the vents in your home or you might just notice because it's taking longer than usually for your home to cool down when you turn on the AC.
- A Hissing Sound: If you notice a hissing sound coming from the air conditioning unit, it's probably the pressure of the refrigerant leaking from the system. Once you notice this sound, call in the professionals right away to make repairs and fill the refrigerant levels back to a normal level.
When you notice any of these three signs of a refrigerant leak, you need to address it right away by calling in AC repair professionals. Otherwise, your AC system is going to become overworked and not work efficiently, which leads to higher repair bills in the future, as well as higher energy bills.