Air conditioning is a fact of life these days. Most of us expect it’s comforting availability when the long days of summer test our personal physical heat tolerance. Invented in 1902 as a way to reduce air moisture in a lithographing company, few people could afford the luxury in their homes, so most visited theaters and department stores to enjoy a brief respite from the heat.
Today, the ease and automated comfort of central air conditioning has taken the sting of extremely hot days out of most homes. Cooling the inside air is the main function of an air conditioner, but it is not all that it does. Air conditioners use a thermostat to regulate the air temperature. They also perform as a filter to remove airborne particles from the air. Since reducing the temperature of a volume of air causes it to release moisture, air conditioners also serve as a dehumidifier.
Air conditioners work much like refrigerators and use refrigerants to move air in two directions. Air conditioners actually have two sides; the cold side moves air inside while the hot side moves air outside. A fan blows air into the room over coils that are chilled while another fan vents the hot air coming off the compressor to the outdoors. Liquid refrigerant is compressed and moved into the evaporator by the expansion value; the refrigerant’s pressure drops, expands and returns to a gas while in the evaporator; following which, the refrigerant is then pressurized by the compressor which results in its liquefying once again; and, so the cycle repeats.
While there are some differences between window units, split-system units and central air units, your local HVAC professional will know which system is best suited to meet the individual needs of your home.
