How Does a Heat Pump Lose Freon?
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About Heat Pumps
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Freon is the chemical agent that is used to both heat and cool areas, known as a refrigerant. While normally a gas, when freon is compressed it becomes a liquid that can easily absorb and carry heat. Depending on how it is compressed, the freon can carry heat to and from specific locations, which makes it easy to cool refrigerators or heat water and air.
While the normal heat pump is divided into several different parts, freon flows through all of these parts. In the compressor, the gas is put under pressure until it becomes much thicker, concentrating its overall heat into a smaller space. In the evaporator, the freon changes from a liquid into a gas, which requires a certain amount of energy. In the condenser, the freon changes from a gas into a liquid, releasing the heat that it had gathered while in gas form.
Cracks and Leaks
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Heat pumps use these devices constantly when performing their heating functions. Over time, the system can become worn and possibly crack or wear away in places. The freon needs to pass through several different series of pipes each time it completes a circuit, and any one of these pipes is susceptible to leakage. Over time, pipes can wear down or become slightly dislodged, and the freon can escape into the air.
Because such leaks affect the pressure of the gas as it escapes, it can also easily affect the overall performance of the pump. Specialists can tell if any freon is missing by carefully measuring the pressure of the freon still in the pipes, but it can be hard for homeowners to tell if they are losing freon. Over time, the loss of the gas can lead to poor performance, since the heat pump has to run harder and longer to heat the same substance to the same heat level.
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Detecting Leaks
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Traditionally, new heat pumps should be checked twice a year to ensure that their operation has not caused any unexpected cracks or leaks that may release the freon. To find and fix the leaks, specialist inject a dye into the system. This dye is phosphorescent and under the proper lighting conditions it glows. This glow can be used to track leaks and repair them.
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References
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Comments
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mY HEAT PUMP IS 16 YEARS OLD. I HAVE READ THAT IRT IS PROBABLY BETTER BUILT THAN A NEW ONE WOULD BE. I HAVE A FREEON LEAK THAT I HAVE HAD TWO SERVICE GUYS ATTEMPT TO FIND AND THEY STAE THEY CAN NOT BUT DID CHARGE ME PREETTY GOOD! wHAT DO YOU SUGGEST?
