Your central air conditioning requires refrigerant to help remove the heat from the air and make it cold, which is then pushed through the ductwork within your home. That's why a simple refrigerant leak can cause your home's entire system to stop producing cold air. Here is what you need to know about detecting and repairing refrigerant leaks.

How Do You Detect A Refrigerant Leak?

One of the first things you'll notice that's wrong with your air conditioner is decreased cooling performance. The air may not be coming out of the vents as cool as it once did, and it will take longer to cool down your home after the air conditioner has been off for a long amount of time. Low refrigerant is often the cause of this problem.

Hissing sounds can sometimes emanate from one of the refrigerant lines, which will not be noticeable unless the air conditioner is running. You can spray refrigerant lines with a soap and water solution to see if it produces bubbles and confirms the location of the leak.

Ice will also build up on the evaporator coil when there is a lack of refrigerant. While it may not make sense that ice on an evaporator coil will cause a lack of cold air, the frozen coil is due to the heat having nowhere to go.

Why Is It Important To Fix A Refrigerant Leak?

Refrigerant is not something that you put into an air conditioner and need to refill. Once the refrigerant is in the system it will stay there until it unexpectedly escapes due to a leak. While you could recharge your air conditioner to put in more refrigerant, it is only going to leak back out. This is not only bad for the environment, but bad for your wallet as well.

How Do You Fix Refrigerant Leaks?

Fixing refrigerant leaks will require replacing the damaged component of the air conditioner system. If it is a refrigerant line, all it may take is some soldering to close up the line and prevent refrigerant from leaking out. If there is a component that is causing the leak, then the component may need to be swapped out for a new one. 

Now sure how to find or fix the refrigerant leak in your HVAC system? Hire an HVAC technician to handle the problem for you. They can track down the leak and make the necessary repair for you.

For more information, contact an HVAC system repair company near you.