Yes you need freon if you own a heatpump, with a furnace/oil burner you could do without the freon.
Modern wall air conditioners usually do not need any coolant replaced during the life of the air conditioner.
Actually no technical skills needed to check the Freon level. Home central air conditioners have a Freon scale on it. One just need to read the scale and determine whether the level of Freon is sufficient.
You will always need radiant heating in the winter. Without radiant heating, a standard home will be far too cold to live in. Human beings need warmth in their shelter to remain healthy.
Yes, the heat pump (in the heating mode) is like an air conditioner in reverse. It cools the outside air and heats the room air. Of course, you need Freon to do this heat-transfer process.
The pips in a steam heating system need to be insulated to prevent condensation. Condensation can lead to mold and or freezing of the steam pipes in the winter.
the only refrigerant available for use in automobile air conditioners is 134a, you might need an adapter if this is an older vehicle. available at any auto retail shop.
The first thing to consider is to decide what size of a heating system you need. Their are several different heating systems out there; including space heaters, baseboard heaters, traditional furnaces (electric, gas, and wood), and heat pumps that also work as air conditioners.
It depends on what kind of freon you need.
R134a freon...................
Yes. Many summer camps have NO heating and air conditioning.
I guess you have a heatpump or you would not be asking this. You need a set of freon pressure guages and the heater specs. Now you learn what the pressure lines are suppossed to be doing at the temperatures inside and outside and adjust the freon accordingly.
Freon does not generally need to be replaced. However over time, systems sometimes have a small leak and need to have coolant added. A Freon gauge can confirm if you need to have Freon added.