The Role of Refrigerant in Your Air Conditioner’s Performance
As a homeowner, it’s always a good idea to gain more information about the different systems throughout your household. One in particular that gets a lot of attention during the summertime is your air conditioning system. Below, we’ll dive into more specific details about what air conditioner refrigerant is and why it’s an important component of your system.
Where Is Refrigerant in Your AC System?
Your air conditioning system has multiple components, some of them housing refrigerant. Refrigerant is found inside the evaporator coil located inside the indoor air handler unit. It’s also found inside the condenser coil located in the outdoor condenser unit. Refrigerant also flows through copper lines connecting the evaporator and condenser coils.
What Does Refrigerant Do?
The role that refrigerant plays in the functioning of your air conditioning system is to remove heat. As your blower fan blows hot air over the evaporator coil inside the indoor air handler unit, heat naturally transfers to the low-pressure refrigerant inside the evaporator coil. This causes the coolant to evaporate from being a liquid to a gas.
Instead of thinking that your air conditioning system cools your home, it’s more accurate to think of it as a heat removal system. It’s physically taking heat out of the air inside your home and moving it to the air outside. This constant removal of heat is what adequately cools your home throughout the whole summer season.
Once the refrigerant absorbs heat from inside your home, it gets compressed as it’s sent out to the outdoor condenser unit. Inside the outdoor condenser unit is the condenser coil that the refrigerant flows through. Heat from the refrigerant naturally moves into the low-pressure outside air that’s being blown over the condenser coil. As the heat releases from the refrigerant, it returns it back to a liquid state.
The Effects of Low Refrigerant
For your air conditioning system to work appropriately, it needs to have the correct amount of refrigerant inside of it. Unfortunately, refrigerant can leak out through loose fittings in the line or leaks in the coils. When too much refrigerant seeps out of your system, it can severely impact its performance.
Without enough refrigerant, your AC unit won’t be able to pull enough heat out of the air to comfortably cool your home. Some of the most common signs that your unit is low on refrigerant include warm air coming from your air vents, long system run times, frozen coils, and excessively high energy bills. If you suspect you have a low refrigerant level, it’s best to call us so that we can recharge your system to return it to functioning like normal.
Why Are There Different Refrigerants?
When you first start learning about air conditioner refrigerants, it becomes very obvious that there are many different types in circulation. Some of the most common include R22, R410A, R454B, and R32. Each air conditioning system can only use one type of refrigerant.
As of January 1, 2025, air conditioners may only use one of the newer A2L refrigerants, which include R454B and R32. Systems may no longer use R410A or R22 refrigerants because they have been shown to be damaging to the ozone layer.
Can You Recharge Your Refrigerant Yourself?
When your air conditioner is low on refrigerant, one of your first thoughts may be to recharge it on your own. While DIY definitely has its place, recharging refrigerant isn’t it. Refrigerant can be a dangerous substance when not handled properly, as it can damage your lungs if you breathe it in and significantly irritate your skin.
It’s important to note that recharging AC refrigerant is much different than recharging the refrigerant in a car. Home AC systems require precise refrigerant levels to function correctly. Our professionals have the appropriate equipment to test and recharge your refrigerant level to the exact specifications of your individual unit.
Furthermore, they’re able to successfully identify the source of your refrigerant leak and repair it to ensure your system stays recharged after we leave. It’s imperative to fix the refrigerant leak first before recharging your system to ensure long-term results.
Professional AC Installation Service
JAMCO Heating & Air Conditioning offers professional air conditioner installation services in the Deptford, NJ area. We can also help with all your air conditioning repair, replacement, and routine AC maintenance needs. Call our office today to schedule your next service consultation with one of our helpful AC technicians.
