Busting The Common Myths about AC Refrigerant

Only recently, air conditioner refrigerant has become a hot topic of discussion as the old R-22 is constantly phased out for the fluid’s more environment friendly counterpart. However, there are several common myths about AC refrigerant that should be debunked by an air conditioning expert in order to help homeowners go about with the right heating and air conditioning repair.

“There’s No Need to Worry about Refrigerant Leaks”

Refrigerant has not been designed for leaving your AC system. The refrigerant line is made to keep the refrigerant in for the longest time possible. While heat can dissipate from the refrigerant, the refrigerant itself must not evacuate. When this happens, the simple and plain fact is that there is something wrong with the AC system.

Refrigerant leaks are bigger deals than what you may think. The AC has been designed to hold a specific refrigerant amount to get rid of a set heat amount. When the levels of refrigerant are too low, the indoor coil could freeze. This will make your AC run less efficiently with the compressor failing during the process.

“Refrigerant Serves as the Fuel of Air Conditioners”

Most people consider the refrigerant as the fuel of air conditioners, similar to how cars make use of natural gas for power. However, this is not really the case. For powering the fan, compressor, and rest of the components, your AC will make use of plenty of electricity. The main role of refrigerant is only for the purpose of heat exchange.

At particular pressure and temperature levels, the refrigerant can absorb as well as release heat. It is basically heat exchange that cools down your house and can be achieved through getting rid of heat from the air in your property and releasing heat outdoors. It works through the following way:

• The cycle repeats again and again until your house is cool.
• The heat releases into the air outside the condenser unit as a refrigerant turns to a gas.
• Refrigerant gains a particular pressure at compressor outdoors.
• Air blowing over coil cool and flows into your ducts and throughout your entire house.
• Indoors at evaporator coil, refrigerant evaporates as the warm air moves over the coil. The refrigerant absorbs heat from the air that also cools down your coil.

Therefore, refrigerant isn’t used up like fuel. It recycles only throughout the system to eliminate heat, enabling the home to cool down.

“Freon is the Universal Refrigerant”

Some of you might be curious why the term 'refrigerant' is used instead of 'Freon'. Well, basically, Freon is the name that most people recognize easily than the term refrigerant. Nevertheless, it’s a brand name and there are some brands of refrigerant used as well. Indeed, the generic term is actually refrigerant.

In some cases, Freon might be the brand used for charging your air conditioning unit. What matters is that it’s the right kind of refrigerant for the system. The modern air conditioners might utilize R-410A, the refrigerant used commonly in replacing the outdated R-22.