Ever wondered how air
conditioning systems pump out the chilly air from their guts? Here’s
a basic explanation of how they cool homes (and heads) during the
sweltering summer season.
In a central heating
and cooling system, an air conditioner basically works like a human
heart— absorbing warm air and pumping out cold air through an
intricate system of ductworks. A fully functioning central cooling
system has four main parts: the evaporator, compressor, condenser,
and expansion device.
The evaporator is where
a special liquid, called the refrigerant, does its magic. It is
considered the “lifeblood” of the entire system, as it is the
main working fluid, along with the mechanical devices inside an air
conditioning unit, responsible for the thermal exchange. This
exchange involves mainly converting temperature and humidity into
conditioned air.
In plain terms, the
cooling from an AC unit works this way: As the warm air passes over
the evaporator coils, the refrigerant inside absorbs the heat and
humidity, thus somewhat cooling the air in the room. An evaporator
fan helps move the hot interior air into the unit to blow across the
evaporator coils. Inside the evaporator, the working fluid goes
through a heat exchange, which converts the liquid to vapor, taking
the absorbed heat with it. In the closed system of coils, the
refrigerant gas is then moved into the condenser where the
refrigerant gas is compressed in another heat exchange process. This
converts the refrigerant gas to liquid, helped along as heat
(previously absorbed from the cooled space) is discharged outdoors
through the condenser fins.
The cycle continues
again and again until the room reaches the preferred cooling
temperature, which is controlled in real time by the thermostat.
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