Freon (a brand name of refrigerant) is the blood of your air conditioner. Without enough refrigerant, your AC can’t cool your home properly, leaving you sweaty and uncomfortable. Not only that, but a low level of refrigerant can severely damage your air conditioner, just like a low blood count damages your body. We’ll explain why in more detail. Here are the signs your AC is low on refrigerant...and what you need to do to get things back to normal. Freon (a brand name of refrigerant) is the blood of your air conditioner. If your AC is taking longer than normal to cool the home, you may be low on refrigerant. Because refrigerant is what absorbs the heat in your air. So without enough of it, your AC can’t absorb enough heat to cool the air well. In other words, think of refrigerant like a heat sponge: the smaller the sponge, the less it can absorb. If you’re really low on Freon, you’ll notice that your supply vents are blowing lukewarm/warm air.

Now it makes sense why your home is taking forever to cool off! Due to lack of refrigerant, your AC runs much longer than needed to cool the home, increasing your energy bills as a result. Go to your outside AC unit (the one with the spinning fan). If you see ice building up on the copper refrigerant line, then you may be low on refrigerant. When low on refrigerant, the inside AC unit’s evaporator coil (the part that cold refrigerant flows through) gets too cold, causing cold liquid refrigerant to flow back the refrigerant line. This causes the surrounding moisture on the refrigerant line to freeze up. Eventually the liquid refrigerant will make its way to the outside unit’s compressor (the “heart” of your AC). This flowback of refrigerant will damage the outside unit’s compressor. You see, liquids can’t be compressed, so when the refrigerant flows into the compressor, it’s quickly converted into thousands of pounds of hydraulic pressure, and something (valves, rods, plates) will break.

Compressors are extremely expensive to replace and, if yours doesn't have a valid warranty, you’ll probably end up replacing the entire outside AC unit since it’d be more cost efficient. The only reason you’d be low on refrigerant is due to a refrigerant leak (refrigerant isn’t used up like gas in a car, so escape through a leak is the only conclusion).what size ac unit for 1000 square feet And if you have a bad refrigerant leak, the refrigerant makes a hissing or bubbling noise as it escapes.air conditioning units for bedroom If you suspect you have low refrigerant (and thus a refrigerant leak) call a professional AC technician for a diagnostic check.portable ac power battery If they find a leak, they should repair it (if possible) before adding more refrigerant.

Adding refrigerant without fixing the leak will cause the refrigerant to escape again, and you’ll have this problem all over again. And older R-22 refrigerant is super expensive now. If you have any other questions about the refrigerant in your air conditioner, ask one of our experts for help. If you think your system needs refrigerant and you want a refrigerant leak check, schedule an appointment time online with Cool Today. Cool Today provides award-winning air conditioning service to Sarasota, Florida and the surrounding cities and counties.It’s normal for a heat pump to be covered in a bit of frost during the winter. Especially when it’s humid outside after rain.Because a heat pump in “heat” mode is pulling heat from the outside air and pulling it into your home. When that happens the humidity/moisture in the air around the heat pump becomes frost and clings to the heat pump.Lucky for you, your heat pump has a defrost mode that starts after 30-90 minutes. However, you may have a heat pump maintenance issue if the following occurs:If your heat pump has been iced over for over 90 minutes, then there’s something wrong with the defrost mode, such as a bad defrost timer or a malfunctioning reversing valve.

A heat pump technician can determine what kind of defrosting system your heat pump has and find the solution.Like we said, it’s natural for a heat pump to frost over quickly because of high relative humidity. But if it’s dry outside and your heat pump frosts over quickly, you may be low on refrigerant.If that’s the case, a contractor needs to find the refrigerant leak, fix it, and add refrigerant to the heat pump.If you’re getting the cold shoulder from your heat pump while it’s defrosting, here’s why.When the heat pump starts its defrost cycle, it temporarily reverses to send hot gas to the outdoor coil to melt the frost. Basically it’s working in air conditioning mode.To make up for that, the fan in the outdoor unit shuts off. Then your heat pump’s auxiliary heat (either an electric heat strip or a backup furnace) comes on to keep you warm until the defrost cycle finishes.You’ll know this is working when you see “emergency heat” on your thermostat.But if you’re not getting any hot air during the defrost cycle, something is wrong with the auxiliary heat, and a contractor will need to repair it.

Did you like this article? Sign up for our newsletter to get more energy efficiency tips and DIY how-tos sent straight to your inbox every month.For more information on any of our products or services, contact us online. If the air conditioning coils in your home's unit have fallen victim to ice buildup, you'll have trouble getting your house properly cooled. Incorporating the aid of an air conditioning specialist can sometimes be costly, so before placing that call, make an effort to tackle this job on your own. Fortunately, provided the problem isn't indicative of something more serious, you can take care of the issue in just a few simple steps. Step 1 - Prep Your Air Conditioner Before proceeding to remove the ice from the coils, you will need to turn off your AC unit and disconnect it from its power source. Allow it to sit for several minutes, and you'll be ready to give the surrounding area a good looking-over. If you find any leakage or stains on the unit, your air conditioner will likely need to be looked at by a repair specialist.

Leaks are often caused by low refrigerant levels and should only be tackled by someone well-versed in these machines. If you're find nothing out of the ordinary upon inspection, you may proceed with the next step. Step 2 - Allow the Ice to Melt Keep the device turned off and disconnected to allow the ice to melt naturally. If it is warm enough for your AC to be active, this shouldn't take long. Step 3 - Clean Your Coils Now that the ice buildup has melted away, it's time to give the coils a good cleaning. Start by donning a pair of gloves and spraying the formerly ice-laden coils with a commercial coil cleaner. Next, use a scrub brush or expendable toothbrush to administer a vigorous scrubbing, making sure to purge any caked-on dirt deposits. Excessive dirt on your coils is a major cause of ice formation, so when performing this step, make a point of being very thorough. Once the coils have been successfully cleaned, spray them with a warm water-filled spray bottle in order to remove any remaining traces of the cleaner.