Refrigerant Leaks: Our Guide to This AC Problem
Refrigerant leaks are problems that we deal with on a regular basis. It’s not that air conditioners are supposed to leak refrigerant—they most certainly are not. It’s just that this problem can contribute to other issues in a variety of ways. Is your AC keeping up poorly with your cooling demands? It could be a refrigerant leak. Are your energy bills too high? This also could be due to a refrigerant leak.
So, today we’d like to talk about the causes behind refrigerant leaks and how these problems can be noticed by you as a homeowner. Remember, calling us for AC repair in Raleigh earlier means you’re avoiding more side-effects and high bills due to the refrigerant leak. Save money and keep cool by adhering to our refrigerant leak guide down below!
How It Happens
Refrigerant leaks don’t occur magically. Think about it, your compressor keeps the refrigerant at high pressures within the lines of your AC. Like any high-pressure pipes, they can rupture after a long time, wear and tear, or just stress for working years on end. Just because your air conditioner springs a refrigerant leak doesn’t mean it’s a bad air conditioner. This just means it’s working hard and it needs to be fixed properly! So, let’s figure out how you could pinpoint whether your air conditioner is suffering from a refrigerant leak.
Lukewarm Air
If you’re getting home after a long day of work and you turn your air conditioner on, you should really feel the difference. If, after an hour or so, your AC is just pumping out lukewarm air that mildly irritates you, then you could be the victim of a refrigerant leak. As refrigerant leaks from your air conditioner, it becomes harder and harder for it to do its job properly. Your air conditioner might never reach the temperatures specified on your thermostat, and in that case, you’ll need it to be repaired.
Hissing and Bubbling
Since refrigerant is kept as a high-pressure gas and liquid in various different areas of your air conditioner, it can make noises when it starts to leak. Hissing sounds represent the gas escaping from the refrigerant lines. Bubbling can be heard when air bubbles enter the refrigerant lines that are usually taken up by liquid refrigerant. Either way, these sounds are bad news and your air conditioner needs to be repaired as soon as possible!
Inefficiency
An air conditioner that runs with less refrigerant is going to have trouble running as efficiently as one with the optimal amount. It will start consuming more energy to run the normal cycle, or perhaps even cool less air while consuming more energy, meaning your energy bills will be obnoxiously high. Take a look at your monthly bills and see if you notice a trend. If you do, then it’s high time that this trend is addressed and we get your air conditioner to the efficiency levels it deserves.
The AC specialists at Raleigh Heating & Air can provide quality repairs. Call us today!