An air conditioner works by simply expelling hot air from a room. The state of the coolant changes from liquid to air and vice versa, therefore altering its pressure. These changes affect how heat is extracted from inside the room and released outside. This process creates a cycle known as an air conditioning cycle.
Air Conditioning Cycle
Most air conditioners use air supply split system. There are two units that make up the split system: the inside unit that is located somewhere inside the house-the crawlspace area or attic-and the outside unit that is located outside the house. The four main parts of an air conditioner are the evaporator coils, the compressor, the condenser coils and the expansion valve. These parts are involved in generating the refrigeration cycle. There are four steps in the refrigeration cycle.
Cooling of Air in the Inside Unit
Heat from the air gets absorbed into the cold refrigerant in the inside coils (called the evaporator coils) and as a result, the temperature in the air drops. This happens when air passes over the coils. The state of the coolant changes from liquid to vapor.
Pressurization of the Coolant
When the vaporized coolant is taken to the compressor located in the outside unit, it is heated to a temperature higher than the one outside. This happens due to the thermodynamic law, which states that heat moves to cooler bodies. The vaporized coolant is then passed through the condenser coils. The condenser coils are another set of coils found in the outside unit.
Cooling of the Pressurized Refrigerant
As the pressurized refrigerant flows through the condenser coils, a condenser fan is used to blow outside air against the hot condenser coils. The heat from the coils is absorbed by the cooler air outside and in the process, the refrigerant loses its heat and is condensed back to liquid state. It is then pumped back to the inside unit.
Further Cooling of the Refrigerant
The coolant still contains some heat and cannot work effectively in that state. The thermostatic expansion valve that is located in the inside unit expands the volume of the refrigerant; a process called depressurizing. This results in the loss of any remaining heat that was in the refrigerant. The refrigerant is then pumped back to the first set of coils, evaporator coils, where the cycle starts again.
Bottom Line
All air conditioners work in the same way in what is known as the air conditioning cycle. In order to have colder air inside of your home, it’s important that this cycle is able to work without strains. Some types of ACs, like the ground and water source systems, work the same way as the air supply split system, only that the outside unit where the heat is transferred is either installed in the ground or near a water source. Other than the split system, there is also the window system -- both of which don’t work better than the other. All the parts in a window system AC are small enough to fit into one unit. The AC is mostly placed by a window and connected to the power supply. Although there are different types of HVAC systems, there are also some of the most energy efficient systems you can choose from to use your AC economically.
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