refrigerant charge: heat pumps and air conditioners

Inadequate refrigerant charge in air conditioners and heat pumps is very common, a and a cause of low-efficiency and higher energy bills. Make sure that your technician checks the AC or heat pump refrigerant charge during his maintenance visits.

Undercharging and overcharging

The refrigerant charge should match the manufacturer's specification. Air conditioners and heat pumps shouldn’t be either undercharged or overcharged.

Leaks

Undercharging can be due to a faulty installation or to leaks. If an air conditioner or a heat pump is low on refrigerant, and if it leaks, adding refrigerant isn’t obviously a solution.

The technician should fix possible leaks, charge the system with the correct amount of refrigerant (according to the manufacturer’s specifications) and test the repair.

Professional job

Correcting the charge is very important, and demands training and adequate tools. Not all the HVAC technicians are competent or certified to measure and to correct the refrigerant charge.

Harmful to the environment

Some AC/heat pump refrigerants are harmful to the environmental, namely to the ozone layer – an additional reason to fix eventual leaks. The refrigerant adding and withdrawn should be done according to technical standards specified by organisms as EPA.