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Bartels Heating & Cooling Blog

Air Conditioning Tip: Different Types of Refrigerant

As homeowners throughout the area prepare for the onset of the cooling season, we’d like to take this opportunity to provide a little bit of information about the different types of refrigerant used in air conditioning systems. Like your refrigerator, your AC relies on the refrigerant cycle to remove thermal energy from your home and cool it for distribution. But it needs the right amount of refrigerant or else the cycle won’t work properly. When you need expert Fairfield, OH air conditioning maintenance and repair, call the pros at Bartels Heating & Cooling!

R-22 refrigerant is currently being phased out because its ozone depletion potential (ODP) and global warming potential (GWP) are seen to be relatively high. If you currently have an air conditioning, this is probably the refrigerant that circulates throughout your coils. As it becomes phased out of production, finding supplies for recharging will become more and more difficult. As it becomes scarce, it may be a good time to switch to a more environmentally friendly and efficient home cooling option. Today’s air conditioning systems contain the refrigerant known as R-410A, which is far less environmentally hazardous than its predecessor, although it still has a significant GWP. The new refrigerant operates at a higher pressure as well, which makes retrofitting different refrigerants difficult, if not impossible, for most air conditioning systems.

Refrigerant leaks are one of the most common problems, and they can wreak havoc on your system if they go undetected. All air conditioning systems, from ductless mini splits to heat pumps, rely on refrigerant in order to transfer heat. Refrigerant is chemically designed to produce radical shifts in temperature under pressurized conditions, and it alternates from a cool liquid to a hot gas and back again when circulating through your system. Your compressor pumps the refrigerant through the coils: the evaporator cools the indoor air and absorbs its heat; then it sends its thermal energy to the condenser coils for dissipation.

Make sure your refrigerant is always at the correct level so that you can enjoy uninterrupted comfort this summer. For Fairfield, OH air conditioning services, call Bartels Heating & Cooling today!

 

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