Without any refrigerant at all, your air conditioning system would be incapable of cooling your home. But if you have low levels, you may still be able to feel some cool air from your system. Air conditioners need refrigerant to remove heat from the air, but can you still run your unit with low refrigerant?
You should not attempt to continue running an air conditioner with low levels of refrigerant because many of the parts of your air conditioner require a set level of this chemical blend in order to work properly. When an air conditioner is installed, a technician is supposed to carefully measure out the correct levels of refrigerant. If these levels are not accurate, it may be because your unit was not set up properly in the first place. However, it’s also likely that this is the result of a leak.
Refrigerant may leak from your system due to loose connections or corrosion over time. If it continues to leak from your unit, you may not feel any cool air at all. But even slightly lower levels may cause problems with some key components like the compressor. The compressor is responsible for changing refrigerant into a pressurized gas so that it can pump through the entire system. This part is sized to handle a certain load of refrigerant based on the cooling capacity of your air conditioning unit. When this amount drops too low, your compressor will run into problems that may even lead to replacement.
In fact, many parts of your unit may suffer from wear and tear when refrigerant is low. And when the parts in your system have to work harder to cool your home, your unit will use a lot of energy to reach the desired temperature. This means you spend a lot more every month than you need to, and your air conditioner may already consume a large portion of your bills. To keep bills low, and to keep your unit from suddenly failing, schedule maintenance twice a year and make repairs as soon as you suspect a leak. For more about air conditioning in Orlando, FL, call the experienced technicians at Downtown Air & Heat.
