It is recommended that Freon, the most common type of refrigerant, lasts the entire life of your system.
If your AC unit is working efficiently, you may never have to refill refrigerant, because refrigerant is not like gasoline, which is consumed and has to be replenished.
Instead, it is recycled repeatedly. There are many issues that can arise from low refrigerant levels, ranging from decreased efficiency to complete system failure, so it’s important to have it repaired as soon as possible. In case you notice that your air conditioner is running more frequently than usual, or if it is not keeping your home as cool as it used to, then there might be a problem with the refrigerant in it. Further indications that there may be a problem are loud noises as well as frost or ice on the outside of the unit. There is a possibility that if the issue is caught and fixed early on, our technicians may be able to simply repair the leak and add additional refrigerant to get things back up and running. On the other hand, if the refrigerant has been leaking for a while or if there is some other underlying issue with the unit, then a complete replacement may be necessary. In either case, it’s vital to have the issue diagnosed and fixed as soon as possible in order to avoid further damage and more expensive repairs in the future. Additionally, Freon refrigerants with R-22 have been phased out due to concerns that they can damage the Earth’s ozone layer and contribute to global warming. Therefore, if you have an older AC unit that uses R-22, eventually you will have to replace it with a newer model that uses a different refrigerant. The current refrigerant in your AC unit can still work perfectly well for many years if you use it correctly.