Matt, how does proper refrigerant charge affect the efficiency and longevity of an HVAC system?

In this edition of “HVAC Skill Builder,” Matt discusses the efficiency and longevity of an HVAC system with proper refrigerant charge.

Matt, how does proper refrigerant charge affect the efficiency and longevity of an HVAC system? Well, the proper refrigerant charge is critical in the HVAC system. The refrigerant is one way or is the main way on how heat is actually removed from the home, depending if you’re doing a heat pond, whether it’s heating or cooling. In the cooling mode, the refrigerant is going to go through the system and help remove that heat from the air, and the heating mode is going to do the opposite, or from the heat the air, using the refrigerant moving backwards in the system. If the refrigerant is too low, you’re going to have performance issues, and the air conditioning mode, it’ll start freezing, and eventually it won’t freeze, and the system’s not going to cool. If the refrigerant is too high, you’re going to have performance issues, and then you’re going to hear a typically allowed unit improper cooling on there, and it’s going to really kill the efficiency of this grossly overcharge. So it’s very, very important that the refrigerant charge inside the system is where it needs to be, according to the manufacturer’s specifications, so it can operate properly.