Are you looking for a guide on how to check Freon or Refrigerant Level in Air Conditioning Systems. Here is the easiest ways to check for Refrigerant level in AC units.
Freon is utilized as a refrigerant in air-conditioning systems. According to Wise Geek, this particular refrigerant isn’t as popular as it used to be, owing to the fact that it contains chlorofluorocarbons, which are known to be environmentally harmful.
The skilled air-conditioning technicians at Berner A/C & Heat can retrofit your system to utilize different types of chemicals for refrigerants and, if you’re old air-conditioning system is on its last legs, we can update it to a system that doesn’t use this anymore.
That said, there are still a lot of systems out there that utilize Freon. Whether they utilize Freon or another refrigerant, there are some telltale signs to look for to see if your air-conditioning system is low on refrigerant and if it needs to be repaired and recharged.
First, the Obvious Way to Tell
The easiest way to tell whether your air-conditioning system is low on Freon is to look for the most obvious symptom: Your air-conditioning system is not cooling your house. In particular, if there is warm air coming out of the vents, it’s a good sign that you’re low on refrigerant.
Many air-conditioning systems have the cooling ducts located in the ceiling. However you can do so safely, get close to the vent and hold your hand to it. The air should feel cooler than the ambient air, though it may not feel remarkably so. If the air feels not quite cold enough or not cold at all, it’s time to call your air-conditioning service technician and have them look at the system. It may be the Freon or it may not be, but you clearly have a problem.
Is Your Bill Higher Than Normal?
Sometimes, you get a bill from the electricity company during the summer that will be quite alarming in how large it is.
If you have a very large bill, it may be a sign that your air-conditioning system doesn’t have as much Freon as it needs do the job. This is a good reason to call your air-conditioning service technician.
If your bill is getting unusually large, there is a good chance it’s because your system is not cooling as efficiently as it should be and, because of that, it’s probably running almost all the time. While no air-conditioning system is going to be able to quickly cool off a house that has gotten ridiculously hot, a good, efficiently functioning air-conditioning system should be able to maintain a comfortable temperature without being on constantly.
Ice and Water Issues
Look around your air-conditioning unit and see if there is water lying around on the ground. That’s a good sign that your refrigerant might be low. If it’s accessible to you, look at the indoor coil on your AC unit, as well. The copper lines running to it may build up with ice if your refrigerant levels are too low. These are all things that your technician will look at.
A Professional Inspection
The air-conditioning service technicians at Berner A/C & Heat have tools available that allow them to detect refrigerant in the air, which is a sign that it may be leaking out.
If you want to, you could go down to a home improvement store and pick up one of these yourself, but it’s better to just have an air-conditioning technician take a look at it. Even if you do have the detector, you’re probably not going to know how to fix the problem if you do detect it, which means it’s just better to have a technician look at it, scan for issues and add refrigerant to your AC system, if necessary.
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