WHY YOUR AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM IS LEAKING WATER

The majority of AC unit maintenance must be taken care of by a professional HVAC technician. Your air conditioning system likely endures a lot of wear and tear during the summer months, which is also when ACs tend to break under pressure. Call Shaw’s Air Conditioning today for excellent air conditioning repair services in Fresno.

In order to understand why your system is leaking water, it’s necessary to look a bit closer at the way the cooling cycle works. Refrigerant is chemically designed to undergo radical temperature shifts under different pressurized conditions. After it goes through the compressor, it comes out as a high temperature and high pressure gas that the condenses as it circulates through the condenser coils, assisted by an exhaust fan. While the refrigerant is now a liquid, it’s not yet ready to provide cooling for your home. It goes into an expansion valve that depressurizes the refrigerant, causing it to cool rapidly. The cold liquid is now ready for the evaporator coil.

The indoor coil is what comes into contact with your warm indoor air as the blower motor sucks it through the ducts, cools it, and sends it back. During this thermal exchange, the refrigerant evaporates and the air partially dehumidifies and cools. This condensed water vapor has to go somewhere, and in order to prevent it from damaging sensitive air handler components, it collects in a condensate drain pan connected to a drainpipe. However, problems can arise with this pan. Debris can clog up the pipe, which may lead to overflowing; or a small hole or crack can develop, which may lead to a leak of water. In both cases, the result may be a water leak.