The temperatures are hitting record numbers around the U.S. and most homes are running some type of air conditioner to combat the summer heat. Though we are all thankful that your air conditioner runs, the team at Clean Air HVAC in Pacheco thought they would give you a sneak peek at how an air conditioner operates.
The Basics
There’s a lot of science involved in keeping your house cooler. Your air conditioner runs in a comparable way to your refrigerator, of course your AC has a more difficult job to tackle. Both your fridge and AC cool with a constant loop of refrigerant, in your air conditioner this refrigerant loops from inside to outside your home. This refrigerant effortlessly changes from a liquid to gas and back to a liquid again. It enters your home as a sub-cooled liquid and as it evaporates it takes in heat from inside the home and turns back into vapor. This vapor then travels back to your outdoor unit where the heat is released and is then condensed back into a sub-cooled liquid.
Four Components
There are 4 main elements to your
air conditioner unit: a compressor, an evaporator coil, the condensing coil and an expansion valve.
The evaporator coil is the location your refrigerant evaporates from a sub-cooled liquid into a super-heated vapor. This component can be located in the home, in your garage or even in your attic. Warm air passes across the cold evaporator coil and the heat is removed from the air. This cooled air is then transferred throughout your indoor space.
Your compressor sits in your outdoor condensing unit. The super-heated vapor from your evaporator coil enters into the compressor which surges the pressure of the vapor until it is converted into hot, high pressure vapor. The hot vapor then enters back into the condenser coil where less hot outdoor air runs across the coil, heat is moved outdoors and the refrigerant is converted back into a sub-cooled liquid. The sub-cooled liquid returns to the indoor evaporator coil via an expansion valve or metering device. This continues repeatedly throughout the process.
That accomplishes your physics lesson for now…your air conditioner functions on an relentless loop of science. We understand that it’s not as top-priority to you how it works, but just the fact it’s running. If you’d like to talk about staying cool and comfortable in Pacheco give us a call at 925-233-6238. You’ll be able to get through this hot weather thanks to science and the support from our experts.