The question posed in the title of this post is a trick question. The answer is: Never! This is actually true for a few different reasons, which we'll get into a bit more below. First, though, we just want to remind you that the refrigerant in your air conditioning system performs a vital function therein, as it acts as the heat transfer fluid. If you don't have enough refrigerant in your system, either due to leaks or an improper charge to begin with, you are going to run into a number of different problems.
Why Doesn't My System Need Refrigerant Refills?
The simple answer is: because it doesn't use up refrigerant. If you think that refrigerant is consumed by an air conditioning system in the way that a boiler may consume oil or a car gasoline, then you have a serious misunderstanding about the way in which your home cooling system operates. Refrigerant is not a fuel. Instead, it is a liquid capable of changing to a gas and back again quite easily. This makes it ideal for use in the heat transfer process.
When you cool your home, remember, you are not generating cool air. You are taking air already in your home, and removing heat from that air. This happens when refrigerant in the evaporator coil,appropriately enough, evaporates. Heat is absorbed by the refrigerant as it changes states. It then travels out to the condenser, where it is condensed and dissipates the heat to the air outside. The refrigerant operates on a closed system, and its levels should not fluctuate.
There are a few signs that you may have low refrigerant levels, which in turn suggest a leak. Ice on the refrigerant lines or evaporator coil, for instance, suggests an insufficient amount of heat transfer due to low levels. So too does warm air blowing from your vents. Whatever the issue, we'll figure out precisely what the problem is.
Schedule your AC services in West Hartford, CT with Dynamic Mechanical Plumbing Heating & Air Conditioning.