Freon Leaks: How Refrigerant Loss Affects Your Air Conditioner

A very common issue with air conditioning systems is freon leaks, also known as refrigerant loss. Freon leaks can cause your air conditioner to perform poorly. And they can happen in several places, including the evaporator coils and the compressor. Freon leaks get worse over time and should be taken care of as soon as possible.

Refrigerant Loss Causes

Refrigerant or freon cools your home by removing warm air from your air conditioning system and pushing it outside. Factors that can contribute to freon leaks include improper installation, factory defects, as well as damage or wear-and-tear on your AC system. So even a brand new air conditioning system could have a freon leak if it’s not properly installed. Another common cause of AC freon leaks is erosion of the metal due to formic acid or formaldehyde corrosion. Refrigerant leaks negatively affect your AC system’s efficiency and overall performance. And they can also lead to negative effects on your health.

Health Hazards

Because freon is a toxic substance, it should only be handled by experienced air conditioning repair technicians. Inhaling freon can have lethal consequences and can be hazardous to the environment if it escapes. This is why R-22 refrigerant (freon) is being phased out and replaced with the more environmentally friendly R410-A refrigerant. A freon leak inside your home is toxic for you and your family and should be taken care of as soon as possible.

The solution to a freon leak is NOT adding more freon to your air conditioner or topping it off. Refrigerant is not like gasoline or oil and it never runs dry. Exposure to refrigerant is dangerous too, so if you believe you have a freon leak, you should contact Super Heat & Air right away. And we provide 24/7 emergency AC services, so don’t hesitate to call us if you have a refrigerant leak! A foul smell coming from your AC system is a telltale sign of a freon leak. Here are some other signs that your air conditioning system has a freon leak:

It takes a while for your home to cool down

If there’s not enough refrigerant in your AC system, it takes longer for it to remove the heat out of your home and make it cool. Refrigerant absorbs heat. So if you notice it’s taking longer for your home to cool down, you may have a freon leak.

Warm air is coming out of your registers

If the air coming out of your register vents is warm, it’s another sign that your AC system is running low on freon. A refrigerant leak won’t allow your AC to produce as much cool air as it usually does.

You hear a hissing sound

Aside from inefficient cooling, another telltale sign of a freon leak is a hissing sound. Regardless of whether the leak is inside or outside, a hissing sound coming from your AC system is an indication that it’s time to call an AC professional.

Your evaporator coils are frozen

Another problem with refrigerant leaks when there isn’t enough of it to absorb heat is causing the evaporator coils to freeze. This leads to condensation buildup and frozen evaporator coils, which turns into a slew of other problems.

Increased electric bills

A refrigerant leak also causes your air conditioning system to work harder to cool your home. This leads to increased energy bills. So if you notice your monthly electric bill steadily rising, you could have a freon leak on your hands.

Get it fixed right away

As we mentioned before, freon leaks will get worse over time. So the longer you let it go, the more expensive the repairs will get. Where the leak is located could also make the difference between paying hundreds or thousands of dollars to get it fixed. Patching it up will only create more problems, and sometimes getting the evaporator coils completely replaced is the best option.