My AC Is Losing Cooling Power! What Kind of Refrigerant Should I Put in It?
Whoa, whoa! Slow down! If your air conditioner is losing the ability to cool your home, don’t try to do anything drastic to fix it. Before making any other move, run a couple checks for a simple answer to the problem: See if there’s an issue with the thermostat being incorrectly set. Check for a clogged HVAC filter. Make sure there are no open windows or doors.
Okay, now that you’ve done that, and you still can’t tell what’s wrong, call our air conditioning professionals. We’ll come out to your house, find the AC malfunction, and fix it.
Take a breath, and then we’ll explain the business with refrigerant
All right, you’ve got help on the way to restore your air conditioner. Now we can talk a bit about the misunderstanding people have about refrigerant. Loss of refrigerant is a common trouble that affects air conditioners and will cause their cooling abilities to decline. It can also cause damage to the components in an air conditioner. However, it isn’t the only reason an air conditioner can start to lag, and you should never attempt to “refill” refrigerant yourself.
Refrigerant is a chemical blend that allows the AC to carry out heat exchange, i.e. the movement of heat from inside the house to the outside. It isn’t a fuel source for the air conditioner (the AC uses electricity for power) and under normal circumstances will not get “used up.” Leaks are the only way for the refrigerant level to drop.
Attempting to put refrigerant into the system if you aren’t professionally trained is dangerous and can also harm the AC. If the system has more refrigerant in it than it should, it will cause major problems, including a complete breakdown of the compressor.
The bottom line: Don’t assume loss of refrigerant is the problem, and don’t undertake an AC repair yourself. Trust to us: we’ll get the job done fast and right.
Raleigh Heating & Air, Inc. serves Wake Forest, NC with fast and effective air conditioning repairs. We’ve helped Wake County and the surrounding areas keep comfortable for over 20 years.