If someone in your area is huffing A/C refrigerant from your system, you’ve got a problem on your hands. Not only is the person huffing refrigerant performing an illegal act, but he or she could, at worse, die from the act. And when refrigerant is removed from your air conditioner, it presents significant barriers to performance, and can even lead to a system failure.
Therefore, A/C refrigerant problems that stem from too little refrigerant should be addressed immediately. But how is it possible to tell if someone is huffing the refrigerant in your A/C? Perhaps the only sign that can give you any indication that something is amiss is sudden high energy bills. Or, if you look around your unit outside, you may notice that the cap to the refrigerant valve has been removed. The cap itself may either be on the ground or missing completely.
The implications of A/C refrigerant huffing for the person committing the act are serious and lasting. Side effects can range from a burning mouth or eyes to high blood pressure to a heart attack to brain damage.
The effects of huffing on your system are also significant. Your air conditioner relies on a certain amount of refrigerant in order to perform. But when an air conditioner loses refrigerant, either due to a leak or huffing, its efficiency decreases. In fact, just as little as a 10 percent decrease in refrigerant will generate an increase of 20 percent in operating costs. That’s because refrigerant is key to the cooling process, as the air conditioner relies on refrigerant to absorb and release heat at various points in the cooling cycle. But if there’s too little refrigerant, the system’s capacity to cool, and its ability to do so efficiently, take a dive.
For expert advice when you suspect A/C refrigerant problems, contact Aladdin Heating & Cooling! We’ve been serving homeowners in Lake Orion and St. Clair Shores since 1945 with 24-hour emergency service, free estimates and service of all makes and models of heating and cooling equipment.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about a/c refrigerant problems and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Aladdin Heating services Novi, Farmington, Farmington Hills, Southfield, Oak Park, Ferndale, Beverly Hills, Berkley, Royal Oak, Birmingham, Bloomfield Twp., Bloomfield Hills, West Bloomfield, Madison Heights, Clawson, Sterling Heights, Warren, Troy, St. Clair Shores, Grosse Pointe, Grosse Pointe Woods, Grosse Pointe Farms, Grosse Pointe Park, Detroit, Utica, Shelby Twp., Rochester, Rochester Hills, Auburn Hills, Lake Orion, Oxford, and Clarkston.
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