How it Works: Air Conditioning Refrigerant

One of the essential components of your air conditioning system is the refrigerant. This amazing fluid can change from liquid to gas and back in an infinite cycle, providing you with cool air in the summer. Below, we’ll give you an overview of how this critical component of your air conditioning system helps cool your home.

Refrigerant and the cooling process

Most systems contain three main mechanical components:

• Compressor
• Condenser coil
• Evaporator Coil

These components work harmoniously to quickly convert the refrigerant from gas to liquid and back again, cooling your home to the desired temperature.

The compressor, located outside your home, raises the pressure and temperature of the refrigerant gas and pushes it to the condenser coil, which converts it to a liquid. The liquid travels indoors and enters the evaporator coil, where it evaporates, significantly reducing the evaporator coil’s temperature.

A fan blows warm indoor air across the cold evaporator coil, where the heat from that air absorbs into the refrigerant. Now that the air is cooled, it circulates throughout the home while the heated evaporated gas returns to the compressor. The heat then releases into the outdoor air as the refrigerant becomes liquid.

This cycle continues until your home has reached the desired temperature.

Types of Air Conditioning Refrigerant

There are two main categories of refrigerants that residential AC systems use. These are R-22 (aka Freon) and R-410A (aka Puron). Other types exist, such as R32 and R466a, but these are the most popular.

Older systems use Freon, but since it is no longer in production due environmental issues, recharging your system is difficult and expensive. Newer systems use R-410A, and even that is being phased out. This all becomes very confusing, and the refrigerant landscape is constantly changing to keep up with environmental impact laws.

If you have questions, need help with your air conditioning refrigerant, or suspect a refrigerant leak, call a qualified HVAC contractor.

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