Without enough refrigerant liquid in its system, your air conditioner cannot cool the rooms in your home effectively –– leaving you hot and sweaty in the sweltering summer heat. Running your air conditioner on low refrigerant for too long could majorly damage the internal components, so you'll naturally want to get it refilled as soon as possible by an air conditioning repairs company. This guide offers you signs to identify when your refrigerant level is low and needs refilling.

Room Takes A Long Time To Cool Down

Refrigerant is essentially a liquid used for heat transfer and typically absorbs heat in the air to cool down your room. If your air conditioner takes much longer to cool your room than normal, then this is a sign that the unit is low on refrigerant. When the levels of refrigerant are low, it cannot absorb enough heat to cool down the room properly. You will need to get an air conditioner repairs company immediately to refill the refrigerant and to check for any other problems that may block efficient cooling.

Air Vents Are Blowing Warm Or Lukewarm Air

When your air conditioner works optimally, the air vents will blow out cold air to bring down the temperature of the room in summer. If your AC is low on refrigerant, you'll notice the air vents blowing warm or lukewarm air. 

Frozen Or Icy Refrigerant Lines Indicating A Leak Or Low Fluid Levels

If you go outside and notice ice starting to form on your refrigerant lines, then this is a clear indication of low refrigerant levels in your cooling unit. When your system is low on cooling refrigerant, the evaporator coil of the inside unit becomes too cold and causes the flowing fluid to freeze up the refrigerant line. This cold refrigerant will also flow to the outside compressor and can damage it over time. Compressors are expensive to replace, so you'll naturally want to ensure that your refrigerant liquid remains at optimum levels to prevent this damage.

Hissing noises mean that a refrigerant leak is present somewhere in the system, which is causing the fluid levels to fall. Call your local air conditioning services company immediately to get this problem fixed before your whole air conditioner breaks down.

Refrigerant is vital for the smooth running of your air conditioner. If you notice any of these signs in your unit, be sure to call a qualified air conditioning repairs company as soon as possible to refill the refrigerant and to service the unit.