How do air conditioners cool the air?
Air conditioner units are an important aspect of your home whether you have central air or even a small AC unit typical in smaller homes or apartments. How they cool the air in your home is important, and it could be useful information to better understand how your home functions.
Parts of an AC Unit
In order to know how an AC unit works, we have to know the main components. While there are many smaller parts of the unit, the main functioning parts consist of, the compressor, the hot and cold coils, and the fan.
The compressor’s job is for circulation of the refrigerant, which is a liquid that changes temperatures as its compressed from a liquid to vapor. The coils in the system are separated from the hot coils on the outside part of the AC system, called the condenser, and the cold coils on the inside of the AC system, called the air handler.
Removal of Heat
Often times when we think of an AC unit, we think cold air is constantly blowing out of the vents. While you will feel air moving out of the vent supply, the process of decreasing the temperature in your home is more so a removal of heat. A blower, located on the inside of the house’s AC unit, pulls air from the house and runs the air over the cold coils which has the compressed refrigerant running through them. This air is then returned to the home much cooler.
The refrigerant runs in and out of the house through the hot and cold coils. Once it gets to the condenser, and into the hot coils, the refrigerant gets compressed which increases its temperature. This happens because heat flows from warmer to cooler areas. So in order for the refrigerant to continue to circulate, it needs to increase in temperature so it can move back into the cold coils. This continues until the thermostat detects the desired temperature and turns back on once its needed again.
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