It’s safe to say that you’re going to be using your air conditioner a lot in the next few months, as the heat of summer descends on Texas. Despite the frequency with which people use their air conditioners throughout the year, very few of them know how an air conditioner actually works.
Now, you may be wondering why you need to know how an air conditioner works. After all, you probably use plenty of other appliances on a daily basis whose inner workings are a mystery to you. With air conditioning, however, you probably want to keep your system in as good condition as possible. Part of that involves identifying and fixing problems, and part of identifying those problems is knowing how the system works. So, with that in mind, read on to discover how an air conditioner actually works.
Parts of an Air Conditioner
First and foremost, you’re going to need to know the parts of the air conditioner. There are two units that comprise every central air conditioner, one inside and one outside. The one inside is responsible for circulating air through the ducts, absorbing thermal energy from the air in the process. Meanwhile, the outdoor unit vents that thermal energy outside of the house. The inside unit contains an evaporator coil, an air handler, and refrigerant and power lines. The last two connect it to the outdoor unit, allowing the two of them to work together. The outside unit contains a compressor coil, along with a fan to help vent the thermal energy.
Air Conditioner Operation
During operation, the evaporator coil in the inside unit starts to evaporate refrigerant inside itself. When the refrigerant transfers from liquid to gas, it acts as a heat sink .This draws heat out of the indoor air, and into the coil and the refrigerant gas inside. The refrigerant gas, now carrying the thermal energy from the indoor air, then travels to the outdoor unit. There it is condensed back into a liquid. This releases the heat out into the atmosphere.
If you’d like to know more, call Roznovak’s Services. We provide air conditioner services throughout Hutto, TX.
