Air Conditioning 101: Everything You Need to Know
Air conditioners involve many, many more steps than adjusting the temperature from your Smartphone or on the thermostat. We have come to rely on air conditioners since their invention by Willis Carrier in 1902.
Since air conditioners are such an integral part of our daily lives, it’s important to understand what some of their key components are and what they do. When your HVAC technician is explaining any issues with your unit, you want to be able to understand what needs to be done and why.
During your regular inspections of your air conditioner, here’s everything that you need to know to understand your HVAC technician.
Components of Air Conditioners
- Blower – passes air over the evaporator and then sends treated cool air into the home.
- Compressor – pumps the refrigerant between the condenser and evaporator.
- Condenser – takes the heat that has been removed from the air and releases it back outside.
- Evaporator – uses the refrigerant to remove or extract humidity and heat from the air.
- Fan – disperses heat from the air as it moves air that needs to be cooled over the compressor.
- Filter – removes particles from the air, which improves the air quality to breathe and lessens particulates that the system needs to process.
- Thermostat – sets the temperature to which the air in the home is cooled by controlling the amount of air that the unit cools.
Refrigerants in Air Conditioning Units
Refrigerants used in air conditioners are chemicals designed to transform form when they are heated. They change from a gaseous state to a liquid form and then from liquid back into a gas. In air conditioners, in a liquid form, refrigerants absorb heat from the air and then they are changed into a gas. Next, the refrigerant transforms to a liquid to push the heat outside.
Formulas used to create refrigerants have changed dramatically in the past few decades. Earlier refrigerants were produced with CFCs, chlorofluorocarbons, which were found to be an ozone depleting formulation. CFCs have been banned; newer refrigerants have been approved for use by the Environmental Protection Agency.
How an Air Conditioner Functions
Your air conditioner’s thermostat controls the operation of the whole unit. Directions received from the thermostat cause your unit to be set in motion. By the temperature at which you have set your thermostat, it will activate the air conditioner. When the room temperature rises above the setting, the air conditioner receives a signal to begin its work and cool your home.
To make home cooler and remove humidity, air conditioners need to remove the heat and dampness from the inside. The air conditioner’s fan will draw in hot air from your home into air ducts. Filters will remove particles from the air.
Next, the warm air streams over the evaporator. In this step the refrigerant performs its task. The heat from the warm air is soaked in by the refrigerant, which cools the air. The cooled air is pushed back out of the air conditioner through ductwork into your home.
