Heating maintenance in Fresno often means tending to heat pumps as well as centralized air furnaces. A heat pump works extremely well in places with winters like here in the Central Valley, and the Fresno area features many heat pumps working to keep homes comfortable. Refrigerant plays a huge part in a heat pump’s ability to perform. When it leaks, you need to contact a qualified technician to address the problem immediately. Why? Here’s an overview of why refrigerant is important to your heat pump efficiency and performance.
Heat pumps use refrigerant in a closed loop to alternately warm and cool your home. In the summer, the refrigerant gas enters a compressor (on the outside of the building), which subjects it to a great deal of pressure and heat. The compressor coils then bleed off the heat into the surrounding air, and the refrigerant – now a liquid, though still under a great deal of pressure – moves inside the building to a waiting expansion valve. That releases a set amount of the liquid into evaporator coils, which turn the refrigerant back into a gas and pull heat from the surrounding air in the process. A blower then moves the air into your home to cool it. In the winter, that process is reversed. The inside coils act as compressors to release heat into your home, while the outside coils act as evaporators to cool the air.
When a leak springs up in that system, it throws the entire process out of balance. The air can’t be cooled as efficiently – no matter what season it is – and the heat pump must work harder to do its job. Frost forms on the evaporator coils, further restricting the process and increasing strain on the system as a whole. Not only will it cost you more to operate the heat pump, but it could lead to a more significant breakdown later on down the line.
For any problems with heating maintenance in Fresno, Purl’s Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning is on the case. We know why refrigerant is important to your heat pump efficiency and performance, and can seal the leak before returning your refrigerant to its prescribed levels. Pick up the phone and schedule an appointment today.