The temperatures are reaching record figures around the U.S. and many homes are using some type of air conditioner to beat the smoldering heat. Though we are all grateful that your air conditioner works, the experts at Patterson & Stirling Inc in Erie wants to give you a glimpse at just how an AC system works.
The Basics
There’s plenty of science behind keeping your house cooler. Your air conditioner operates in a similar way to your refrigerator, of course your AC has a bigger task to manage. Both your fridge and AC cool with a constant loop of refrigerant, with your AC this refrigerant loops from inside to to the external part of your home. This refrigerant effortlessly changes from a liquid to gas and back to a liquid again. It flows into your house as a sub-cooled liquid and as it evaporates it absorbs heat from your indoor air and expands back into vapor. This vapor then transfers back to your outdoor unit where the heat is freed and is then condensed back into a sub-cooled liquid.
Four Components
There are 4 core elements to your
air conditioner unit: a compressor, an evaporator coil, the condensing coil and an expansion valve.
The evaporator coil is where your refrigerant evaporates from a sub-cooled liquid into a super-heated vapor. This component can be located inside your home, in your garage or possibly in your attic. Warm air moves through the cold evaporator coil and the heat is removed from the air. This cooled air is then transferred throughout your home.
Your compressor sits in your outdoor condensing unit. The super-heated vapor from your evaporator coil enters into the compressor which raises the pressure of the vapor until it is changed into hot, high pressure vapor. The hot vapor then goes back into the condenser coil where less hot outdoor air moves across the coil, heat is pushed outdoors and the refrigerant is converted back into a sub-cooled liquid. The sub-cooled liquid returns to the indoor evaporator coil by an expansion valve or metering device. This process is continually repeated.
That concludes your physics lesson for now…your air conditioner operates on an relentless loop of science. We realize that it’s not as crucial to you how it works, but that you are staying cool. If you’d like to talk about staying cool and comfortable in Erie give us a call at 814-308-0416. With the help of our team and science we’re going to make it through this sweltering summer.