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Diagram of
a typical air conditioner
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Basic
Operation:
Most air conditioning systems have 5 mechanical
components.
Most
central air conditioning units operate by means of a
split system.
That is, they consist of a “hot” side or the
condensing unit-including coil, the compressor and the
fan, which is situated outside your home, and a
“cold” side that is located inside your home.
The cold side consists of expansion valve and
cold coil, and it is usually part of your furnace or
some type of air handler.
The furnace blows air through and evaporator
coil, which cools the air.
Then this cool air is routed throughout your home
by means of a series of air ducts.
A window unit operates on the same principal, the
only difference being that both the hot and cool side
are located within the same housing unit.
The
compressor (which is controlled by the thermostat) is
the “heart” of the system.
The compressor acts as the pump, causing the
refrigerant to flow through the system.
Its job is to draw in a low-pressure,
low-temperature, refrigerant in gaseous state and by
compressing this gas, raise the pressure and temperature
of the refrigerant.
This high-pressure, high-temperature gas then
flows to the condenser coil.
The
condenser coil is a series of piping with a fan that
draws outside air across thecoil.
As the refrigerant passes through the condenser
coil and the cooler outside air passes across the coli,
the air absorbs heat from the refrigerant which causes
the refrigerant to condense from a gas to a liquid
state.
The high-pressure, high-temperature liquid then
reaches the expansion valve.
The
expansion valve is the “brain” of the system.
By sensing the temperature of the evaporator, or
cooling coil, it allows liquid to pass through a very
small orifice, which causes the refrigerant to expand to
a low-pressure, low-temperature gas.
This “cold” refrigerant flows to the
evaporator coil.
The
evaporator coil is a series of piping connected to a
furnace or air handler that blows indoor air across it,
causing the coil to absorb heat from the air.
The cooled air is then delivered to the house
through ducting.
The refrigerant then flows back to the compressor
where they cycle starts over.
Remember
to clean the filters every month (we recommend when you
receive your electric bill-change your filters).
And clean the coils and fins once a year.
Clean filters keep dirt out of the return air
duct vent and out of your ir conditioning system.
If dirt gets into the system, the system does not
run as efficiently, and that costs you money.
A dirty filter that causes a 10 percent reduction
of airflow can increase the operating costs by 11
percent.
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Conventional
Cooling System Components:
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Outdoor
Components:
1.
Compressor motor
On
residential units, this is normally a hermetic
motor-compressor combined in a single sealed unit.
2.
Condensing coil
3.
Outdoor cooling fan
4.
Electrical shut-off switch(es) |
Indoor
Components:
1.
Air Handler Unit which typically includes the following:
2.
Supply air ducts and registers
3.
Return air ducts and registers |