Although most of us use air conditioners we hardly try to gather knowledge about how it works and the different intricacies of an air conditioner. However, with a little more knowledge, we can actually be saving a lot on maintenance and also prolonging the life of our unit. One such thing that we hardly know much about is the refrigerant or Freon that is inside the air conditioner.
Though it is generally held by many that the refrigerant or the Freon is consumed by the air conditioner it is not exactly what happens. The Freon is not like the fuel of a car. So if we had ideal conditions, we never actually would have needed to change it. But still we have to. Why is that? When you see that the Freon level indicator shows that only little is left, then the reason might be that there is a leak somewhere. Although the recent models have minimized the risk of leaks by welding the connections, someone using an older model can still be faced with the problem of leaks as the connections in them were with mechanical flared fittings. These tend to vibrate and become loose over a period of time. The result was the leaks.
There can be some serious problems if your Freon from the air conditioner is leaking. With low Freon levels the efficiency of an air conditioner significantly decreases. There can be other sever problems too. The Freon can actually freeze the evaporator coil which will then be choked with ice. In fact, Freon is not too great for the environment also. The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) lists it as a controlled substance. So if released to the environment it can be hazardous.
With decreased levels of Freon there can be severe damage to the compressor too. The compressor, which is the most important component of the air conditioner, depends on the refrigerant to be cooled. When the Freon levels drop then it is bound to have effect on the compressor over a period of time. It can cause the compressor to overheat and significantly decrease the life of the compressor. You can even be required to replace the compressor, or worse the entire condensing unit may have to be changed. That really would be a bit stiff on anyone's purse.
So when the Freon levels drop considerably, it is better to locate the leak, get it fixed and then refill the Freon. Without fixing the leak and just filling Freon wouldn't help.
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