Many homeowners know that air conditioners run on refrigerant: chemicals that facilitate a heat exchange between the air inside your home and the air outside your home. The specific refrigerant depends on the exact model of air conditioner, and you need precise amounts in order to facilitate the process of cooling the air. Here in Hammond, LA, that makes your refrigerant vital to keeping your home cool and comfortable during our sultry Southern summers. It helps a great deal to fully understand the purpose of refrigerant in your AC system, and how that can be affected when it starts to run low.
Recirculated, Not Consumed
Unlike the gas in your car, refrigerant is not consumed by the air conditioner. In fact, it theoretically exists within a closed system, and will never leak at all. It first passes through a condenser array, where heat is pulled from it and a great deal of pressure applied. That shifts the refrigerant to a pressurized liquid state, where it enters the evaporator coils in a set amount. There, it shifts back into a gas, pulling heat from the air around the coils as a result. The cool air is blown into your home and the refrigerant returns to the condenser array.
Trouble Comes from Leaks
As we said, theoretically, the system is never supposed to leak. But leaks can occur for a number of different reasons, and when they do, the balance of the system is thrown off. The refrigerant can’t cool the air as effectively and your system has to work much harder to do its job: increasing the risk of more serious breakdowns in the future.
Luckily, the experts at A Professional Heating & Air Conditioning Services can seal any leak and recharge your refrigerant levels to their optimum state. Pick up the phone and call us today!