How Does Your HVAC System Use Refrigerant?

If you have an air conditioner or heat pump in your Lorain-area home, refrigerant plays an important role in your home HVAC system. But you may not be aware of the role it plays, because unlike a furnace filter which needs to be replaced each month, the refrigerant in your system doesn’t need attention unless something goes wrong. Here’s how your HVAC system uses this material:

An air conditioner or heat pump works by moving heat energy from place to place. Refrigerant is the carrier for this heat energy: in the evaporator coil, liquid refrigerant takes on heat and turns into a gas, which can be pumped outside in the summer or pumped inside by a heat pump during the winter. Once there, a condenser releases the heat from the refrigerant, turning it back to a liquid so it can return to the evaporator and complete another cycle.

Because these phase changes are controlled partly by pressure, the amount of refrigerant inside your coils is very important. This amount is called the refrigerant charge, and an HVAC specialist may check it when performing maintenance on your system. Because the coils are closed, and refrigerant should never evaporate into the air, and no loss should take place — if the charge is incorrect, the unit was likely installed incorrectly, or the system has sprung a leak. Repairing a leaky refrigerant line isn’t a DIY task; if you believe your system is leaking, you’ll need to call an HVAC professional.

Recently, the U.S. has decided to transition from R-22 refrigerant to a more modern, less-polluting refrigerant. After 2020, no R-22 refrigerant will be produced or imported. If your air conditioner or heat pump still uses R-22, you may want to consider upgrading before that time.

If you’re curious about how your air conditioner or heat pump works, or you’d like to learn more about the role of refrigerant in your system, let the experts at Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning answer your questions today!

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Lorain, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about refrigerant and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Guide or call us at 440-201-2959.

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