How to tell if your AC is leaking refrigerant.

Does your home feel like it's not getting as cool as it used to? Maybe you’re noticing that it feels just a little too humid for your liking. If there's a puddle on the floor by your HVAC unit or you’ve seen ice forming on your evaporator coils…

You may have an AC refrigerant leak.

So how do we go about figuring out whether or not we have a refrigerant leak on our hands?

First, we want to start by determining if the leak is actually refrigerant, or if it’s just a water leak. Some of the telltale signs of a water leak could be a crack in the drain pan of your unit or a clogged drain line. Another potential cause of a water leak is ice forming on the coils of your unit. 

If the problem persists once you’ve checked your drain pan and made sure your drain lines weren’t clogged, it's time to run through the “is my AC leaking freon” checklist.

Here are six common signs of air conditioning refrigerant leaks:

Poor cooling. One of the most common causes of your system suddenly not keeping up during the hottest hours of the day is a freon / puron leak.

Humid indoor air. Did you know that air conditioners dehumidify as they remove go through the process of cooling down warm air? When there’s a refrigerant leak, an air conditioner’s dehumidifying ability is greatly reduced. This means the air in your place will start to feel more and more humid.

Long cooling cycles. While you might not always notice that your air conditioner is lagging a few degrees behind your thermostat setting, the sound of air moving through your vents makes it easier to notice if cooling cycles are abnormally long. Longer cooling cycles are another sign of a possible refrigerant leak. 

Higher utility bills. If the different issues explained above go on for an entire month, you may see a red flag in your next electric bill. The inefficient cooling and longer cycles caused by low refrigerant can send your electric meter into overdrive.

Ice on evaporator coils. Some of the clearest telltale signs of a refrigerant leak can be observed on your outdoor air conditioning unit. If you can see frosty ice crystals forming on the evaporator coil during hot weather, it’s time to call for service.

Bubbling or hissing sound. If you can hear sounds like this coming from your outdoor unit while it isn’t running, that's bad news. This means that there is a significant amount of refrigerant leaking, and is most likely a compromised refrigerant line. If your air conditioner starts leaking refrigerant due to old age, it may make sense to recharge one last time -- but we’d anticipate replacing the system by next season. Our air conditioning tune-ups ($89 Diagnostic) will help you keep an eye on your AC’s lifespan and anticipate these problems so that you can plan for replacement before your refrigerant lines start leaking this badly.

If you think you may have a refrigerant leak, or if you urgently need a leak repaired, reach out to us and we’ll get you taken care of.