What is a common symptom of a refrigerant leak?

A common symptom of a refrigerant leak is decreased cooling efficiency or performance. When refrigerant levels drop due to a leak, the refrigeration system cannot maintain the necessary pressure for effective heat exchange. This results in the system struggling to cool the space adequately, leading to a noticeable drop in performance.

As the refrigerant is crucial for absorbing heat from the interior of the refrigerated space, insufficient refrigerant means less heat is removed, causing the temperatures to rise. This inefficiency can be observed through the system's inability to reach the desired set point and longer running times to achieve minimal cooling.

The other symptoms mentioned might be factors in various issues within the system, but they do not directly indicate a refrigerant leak as clearly as the decreased cooling efficiency does. For example, excessive noise from the compressor may indicate malfunctioning parts, while higher energy consumption could result from multiple issues, not just a refrigerant leak.