Preventing Refrigerant Loss and High HVAC Repair Costs
Some of the most common HVAC repair issues point to a single issue that’s simple to address. Refrigerant sits at the core of nearly all heat pumps and AC units. As a system loses refrigerant, though, the components have to work harder to achieve the same levels of heating or cooling. Consequently, refrigerant loss is a common driver of high HVAC repair costs. How Refrigerants Work Refrigerant in an HVAC system operates within a closed loop. In other words, your heat pump or AC doesn’t consume refrigerant in the same way that something like a car would consume gas and oil. Instead, the refrigerant is a transfer medium for heat. If the system is in a cooling mode, such as an AC unit during summer heat, the refrigerant transfers the heat through the system to outdoor coils so it can release the unwanted heat. Likewise, the refrigerant in a heat pump captures latent heat from the outdoors and brings it inside. The process involves a state change as the refrigerant converts from a liquid to a gas and back. The refrigerant can perform this loop for years on end in a closed system with close to no natural operating losses....
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