An Evaporator Coil Leak? Now What?
Back to BlogLearn About Evaporator Coil Replacement Services
If you’ve discovered that you have an HVAC evaporator coil leak, it’s likely that your home has high humidity levels combined with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the air. The VOCs combined with humidity create a chemical reaction that produces formic acid which corrodes the copper coil.
The evaporator coil contains cold refrigerant that removes the heat from your home. As the fan blows air over it, it exchanges the heat in the air, ultimately cooling your home. When the coil leaks, the system loses refrigerant that may cause the coil to freeze over, stopping the cooling process altogether and potentially prompting compressor failure—the HVAC’s most expensive part.
Do you need to schedule evaporator coil replacement or repair services in Macon or Middle Georgia? Call Conditioned Air at 478-742-8768!
How to Prevent an Evaporator Coil Leak
Avoiding an HVAC evaporator coil leak is the best defense against expenses associated with replacing the coil and other related parts.
These solutions can prevent a leak from forming:
- Use fewer products that contain VOCs. Look for labels that indicate low VOCs in products such as paint, flooring, furniture, shower curtains and household cleaners, including air fresheners.
- Ventilate your home. A tightly closed home concentrates VOCs, but you can dilute them by using an energy recovery ventilator (ERV) that pulls stale indoor air outside and replenishes it with fresh air. ERVs exchange the thermal energy of the outgoing air with the incoming air, making them an energy efficient solution for improving indoor air quality.
- Install ultraviolet (UV) lights inside the air handler. Not only will these lights neutralize some of the VOCs, but they will also stop the proliferation of mold and bacteria that may also contribute to coil leaks.
- Consider a whole-house dehumidifier to remove more humidity from your home if the air conditioner doesn’t do an adequate job. Humidity should range between 30 and 50 percent.
- Have the evaporator coil cleaned as part of annual professional maintenance. If you can access it, you can inspect it periodically and remove any accumulated dust and any mold growth.
Do You Need Evaporator Coil Replacement?
If you think your air conditioner isn’t working as well as it should, you’re probably right. A common air conditioner repair problem is a broken or worn out evaporator coil. You may see signs of this in different ways, such as:
- High monthly energy bills
- Poor operating efficiency
- A malfunctioning air conditioner
Erosion is one of the biggest causes of wearing out an evaporator coil by weakening it over time. The weaker the coils are, the more likely your air conditioner will experience a refrigerant leak.
The pros at Conditioned Air, Inc. can help you avoid an HVAC evaporator coil leak through maintenance and air quality management. We’ve proudly provided HVAC services for the Macon metro area homeowners since 1898.