If you have an air conditioner in your home that you’ve ever had serviced, you’ve probably heard the word “refrigerant”, but do you know what it is? You might know what refrigerant is on a literal level, but it’s important to understand how refrigerant functions in your air conditioning system. If you understand the basics of your air conditioning system you’ll be able to avoid a lot of problems down the road.
The specific requirements of your refrigerant depend on the needs of your particular unit. If you want to make sure that your AC system is always treated with care make sure you contact our team for our air conditioning repair in Riverside, CA. Done Right, Priced Right.
What Refrigerant Does
Let’s cover the basics before we get into the mechanics of refrigerant. Refrigerant is the commonly used term to refer to the chemical blend that cycles through your air conditioner. As refrigerant cycles through your air conditioner, it changes from a liquid to a gas and absorbs and releases heat throughout the process.
Your refrigerant exists within a closed system—if everything is working correctly it should never leak at all. The process of refrigerant is pretty simple. Refrigerant changes forms often. It passes through a condenser that shifts the refrigerant to a liquid state, it enters the evaporator coil in a set amount and then shifts back to a gaseous state while pulling the heat from the air around your coils. After this process completes, your air conditioning unit blows cool air into your home and the refrigerant returns to your condenser tray to begin the process again.
Your Refrigerant Should Never Run Out
This is a point we really want to hit home. Your refrigerant is something that’s always recirculated—never consumed the way that gasoline is in a car. This is a common misconception among homeowners across the country. You should never be contacting a professional to have your refrigerant “refilled” or “topped off” because it’s not actually supposed to deplete.
If your refrigerant levels have lowered it means that you have a leak on your hands. Leaks occur for a few different reasons. The most common causes of a leak include an old, out of shape air conditioner, loose connections or joints, and simple wear and tear.
If You’ve Got a Leak Make Sure You Call Our Team
If you have a refrigerant leak occurring in your home it’s time to rely on a professional member of our team. Refrigerant leaks might seem like a minor inconvenience because, in most instances, you can still run your air conditioner even when you’re experiencing this issue. Just because you can do something with your air conditioner doesn’t mean that you should. It’s always best to take care of your air conditioner at the first sign of a problem. It’s already hard staying cool during a Riverside summer, don’t make your job any harder by running a faulty air conditioning system!
Make sure you come to our responsible team when you need air conditioning repair. Contact RKM Heating and Air Conditioning today to schedule an appointment.