Why do air conditioner systems leak?

Air conditioning units can leak water through condensation, learn why does this occur and ways to deal with it.

One of the difficulties that may arise if you have an air conditioning system at home is that the indoor unit leaks water, that is, it drips. Far from thinking that this is a totally normal situation, you should know that this may be a symptom of a malfunction in your unit. That is why we will talk about 6 reasons that could be affecting your appliance. Before starting by naming the main reasons for this to happen, you should take into account the concept of condensation.

Why does the HVAC unit produce water through condensation?

Condensation is when two different temperatures collide. What happens is that the air conditioner collects the ambient humidity of a space and begins the process of condensation, because through the inside of the exchanger of the equipment circulates a refrigerant gas at a much lower temperature than the ambient temperature, producing a temperature shock inside the equipment. This is converted into water that ends up in the unit’s drainage system.

Example: When you serve yourself a glass with cold water or ice, the glass starts to “condense”, this is that layer of water that forms outside the glass because the ambient temperature collides with the cold temperature of the contents of the glass.

There are times such as summer, when there is more humidity, when the equipment may leak more water. However, we must not confuse a normal process such as draining water with dripping from the indoor unit.

Reasons for an HVAC unit to leak water

1. Clogged drain.

Domestic units have a factory-fitted drain pipe with a small diameter of about 16 mm. Although this is a sufficient diameter to fulfill its function, with the passage of time, this pipe can become clogged with dirt, for example, which can contribute to generate a kind of plug that makes it difficult for the water to flow to its correct drain and drip from the indoor unit.

2. Dirty filters.

When the filters are very dirty, the unit does not manage to eliminate all the cold it produces, decreasing the gas pressure and thus causing the indoor unit to start freezing. When you turn off the unit or stop its operation, all the ice accumulated inside the unit will start to detach and generate a greater flow of water than usual, which is why the unit will start to drip.

3. External obstruction.

The dripping of the air conditioner may be related to external issues such as an obstruction, not in the drain pipe, but in the container in which water is deposited in the equipment produced by condensation. In many homes the drain pipe is placed in a bottle, bucket or container. If the latter is too full, the tube can become submerged and thus throw the water through the indoor unit.

4. Incorrect leveling of the drain pan.

Inside the indoor unit of your air conditioner there is a drain pan that is responsible for properly drain the water that is produced by condensation and falls under its own weight, by gravity. If the leveling is not adequate, that is, if it does not have the correct slope, you can not properly drain the water and, therefore, it will drip inside. In the same way, if the tray is broken or cracked, the indoor unit may leak.

5. Low gas level.

If the air conditioner has a lack of gas, it also tends to freeze and drip when it is in the off phase or when it is turned off completely. Note that this happens only if the gas level is low. If there is no gas at all (because of a leak, for example), there is no freezing or dripping because it is not even possible to generate cold.

6. Air conditioning in dehumidifier function.

Sometimes, while the air conditioner is in dehumidifier function, the intense condensation process may cause some dripping from the condensing or indoor unit. This is totally normal.

As time goes by, situations may arise that you did not foresee, such as the indoor unit starting to leak. Once you have identified the problem, whatever the reason, you should solve it as soon as possible by requesting the assistance of professional technicians, this way you will have a better chance of saving your equipment.

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