We may not be in the middle of a desert here in Olympia, but that doesn’t mean that it’s fun to be without good air conditioning in the middle of summer. As the temperature starts to climb, you’re going to be relying on your air conditioner more and more often to keep your home comfortable. That means more stress, and a greater likelihood of problems developing with the system. Let’s take a look at output drops in your air conditioner, and what might be causing them.
Refrigerant Leaks
Refrigerant is like the blood of the air conditioner. It is the fluid responsible for absorbing heat from the home’s air, and transferring it outside. Without refrigerant, the air conditioner would not be able to operate. Refrigerant is not consumed by the air conditioner as it runs. It is merely recycled back and forth while the system is on. So if a leak develops in the refrigerant line, it will drain the system of the fluid that needs to operate properly. This will cause a steady drop in output, culminating in a full breakdown.
Frozen Coil
An air conditioner absorbs heat from the home’s air by evaporating refrigerant in a large coil. This coil relies on a balance of temperatures between the warm air flowing over it, and the cool air it’s constantly generating by evaporating refrigerant. If the flow of warm air is cut off, as from a clogged air filter, the coil will freeze over once the temperature of the air around it drops low enough. This prevents the coil from absorbing more heat from the home’s air, which means the output of your system will significantly drop.
