The Ins and Outs of Air Conditioning Systems

Have you ever wondered how air conditioning systems work? It’s a fairly simple process. Heat is moved from one place and dispersed into another place. The main ingredient needed to make an air conditioner work is refrigerant. This is a fluid that changes from liquid to vapor during the refrigeration process due to changes in temperature and pressure.

As your thermostat signals that the temperature needs to go down in your home, it begins the first step of the refrigeration cycle by pulling air from your home over an evaporator coil filled with very cold refrigerant. As this is happening, the refrigerant is collecting the heat from the air because heat flows from warmer areas into cooler areas. Since the heat has been removed from the air in your home, the air now coming out of your vents is significantly cooler.

The heat gathered by the refrigerant still needs somewhere else to go. This is where your outdoor unit comes into play. As the refrigerant heats up, it vaporizes and travels into the compressor that will bring it to a high pressure causing its temperature to increase dramatically.

Once the temperature of the refrigerant is above that of the air outside, it is dispersed into the condenser coil that is around the perimeter of your outdoor unit. The large fan on top of the unit then pulls the hot air out and it is released outdoors. As the refrigerant cools down again, it returns to liquid form and eventually makes it back to the evaporator coil to be used once again in step one of the process.

If you need further explanations about air conditioning systems or would like advice about HVAC issues, please contact us at NisAir Air Conditioning & Heating. We have proudly served Martin, Palm Beach and Indian River County since 1973.