It’s June, and the Grand Strand has already seen some sweltering days with high humidity thanks to storms moving through the southeast. We’ve discussed how high humidity can make hot days feel even hotter and how that means you’ll be running your air conditioning more.
But how does your HVAC unit cool your home or office? It wouldn’t happen without refrigerant, a nonflammable gas named Freon. Refrigerant is the ingredient that cools the air coming out of your vents.
Here’s How It Works:
Simply put, your air-conditioning unit compresses the refrigerant and increases its pressure and temperature. The gas then moves through your unit’s coils, lowering the heat and transforming the gas into a liquid. At this stage, the cooled liquid goes to the AC system’s evaporator, which changes the liquid back to cold gas. The cold gas then moves to cool another set of coils. Finally, these cold, gas-filled coils cool the air in your vents.
So if there isn’t refrigerant, you don’t get cold coils. No cold coils mean no cold air and an unbearable, sticky South Carolina summer. So how will you know when you’re low on Freon and need to call Cooper Mechanical Services?
To find out, watch for these low refrigerant symptoms.
Home Takes Forever To Cool
The refrigerant in your coils acts like an ice cube in warm water. The bigger and colder the cube, the faster and cooler the water becomes. If your refrigerant is low, coils will not get as cold. The air passing over them will thus not change temperatures as much or as quickly if your unit is low on freon.
Vents Blow Warm Air
Feeling warm air out of vents could signal low refrigerant. But, if the coils are not cold, the air cycling through the vents stays the same temperature it is going in.
Electric Bills Are Higher
Higher electric bills are natural when you use more AC. However, a hefty bill jump between a few months is one of the classic symptoms of low freon in a central air conditioner. If this happens, your HVAC unit might be running overtime to keep the house cool.
Refrigerant Line Has Ice
If you notice ice on the copper line on the unit outside your home or office, this could mean low refrigerant. In this case, the cold liquid refrigerant can flow backward into the copper refrigerant line. This causes moisture and frozen condensation as a result.
Hissing Or Bubbling Sounds
Lastly, a hissing or bubbling noise can mean a refrigerant leak escaping the system.
Get in Touch
Whether you’re in Conway, Garden City, or Myrtle Beach, contact Cooper today If you’re experiencing any of these low refrigerant symptoms. We’ll get your HVAC unit back and running so you can stay in the cool.