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Residential Heating and Air Conditioning Blog

How Do I Know If My AC Has Insufficient Coolant?

family-holding-green-paper-house-in-handsIf you’ve read our blogs before, then we’re sure that you’ve read the term “coolant.” Today, we want to make sure that you understand what it is and how it impacts your air conditioning system. Coolant is a big deal, and your air conditioner cannot function without it.

If you’re having significant troubles with your air conditioner and you need fast AC repair in St Louis Park, then we’re the team you should get in touch with. Today, we want to give you a couple of examples of how you can tell that you’re having troubles with your coolant and how to handle the issue.

What Is AC Coolant?

Air conditioning coolant is also known as “refrigerant.” This refrigerant is the lifeblood of your air conditioning. It’s the main part of your air conditioning system that allows the system itself to cool.

If something goes wrong, it’s possible for your air conditioner to start leaking refrigerant. The problem for you arises when you’re attempting to tell if this is happening. Let’s get into some signs below…

How To Tell If You Have Enough

How to tell if your coolant levels are insufficient…

  • Your Energy Bills Have Increased: There’s a steady rise in your energy bills or a quick spike. Either way, the increase indicates an unhealthy air conditioning system. High energy bills without clear cause means that you’re having troubles with your air conditioning efficiency. Efficiency problems often stem from an undetected problem like a refrigerant leak. We’ll help you figure it out.
  • Warm Air: If you’re overcompensating for your air conditioner, then you’re dealing with warm air problems. Overcompensating looks like running your air conditioner for longer, choosing much cooler temperatures, or even adding in extra power to cool you off. Warm air is a problem that refrigerant leaks cause because a leak greatly reduces your cooling power.
  • Hissing and/or Bubbling Noises: Have you noticed weird sounds coming from your home’s air conditioner? A hissing or bubbling sound is literally the sound of refrigerant leaving your air conditioning system. Don’t just listen to this sound and let it happen. This sound is an indication that you should get in touch with one of our professionals.

There’s No Such Thing as a Refill!

The last thing we want to leave you with is a pertinent piece of information—it’s that there’s no such thing as a coolant or refrigerant refill. If you go to someone who says that they can “refill” or “top off” your refrigerant, they are poorly mistaken.

When you’re losing out on refrigerant, it’s because you have a leak, not because this refrigerant is being used and “running out” like a car would use gas. Don’t fall into this trap. It’s a slippery slope because “topping off” your refrigerant now isn’t going to fix the issue. It’ll patch it up for a while, but it’ll be right back before you know it. Solve the issue completely with repair or replacement.

Contact Residential Heating and Air Conditioning for your home’s air conditioning services. We’ll help you “Feel the Difference.”

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