Opposite to common perception, Air Conditioning (AC) is not only concerned with adding cool air to an area, but more about drawing any heat away from it. The final result is that the space will have significantly less heat, which makes it feel cooler to the dwellers. Air conditioning takes introduces the effects of evaporation, similar to how a swab of alcohol makes your skin feel cool as the liquid evaporates. The alcohol doesn’t lower one’s skin temperature, but instead draws heat away from the air as it turns into a gas.
An air conditioning unit accommodates a specific chemical called a refrigerant that has the unique ability to morph from a gas to a liquid in a short amount of time. A refrigerant called Freon is normally employed in AC units, even though there are some other refrigerants available. The parts of a common AC unit will form a closed system made up of a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve and a thermostat. Fans assist in circulating the conditioned air, while thin metal fins allow heat to quickly disappear. The heaviest part is usually the compressor, because it has to be strong enough to withstand quite a large amount of pressure and make sure to allow any air conditioning maintenance in Yorkshire, to be carried out only by professionals.
Be Cool and Keep it that Way
The method of cooling a space starts with the refrigerant entering the compressor, normally located at the bottom of the unit. At this point, the refrigerant is still a cool gas, but as the gas is introduced into the compressor’s inner chamber, the compressor then squeezes the refrigerant and the gas changes into a very hot gas under high pressure. This now hot gas enters through a series of condensing coils fitted outside of the room that is being cooled. Then the heat dissipates off into the outside air, much like a car’s radiator expends heat from an engine coolant.
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After the refrigerant has reached the end of these coils, it is a lot cooler and now in liquid form. The liquid remains under high pressure is forced through a tiny opening called an expansion valve. The liquid refrigerant is then released out a very small amount at a time and due to the refrigerant evaporating at a much lower temperature than water, it starts to evaporate while travelling through yet another set of coils. This is the evaporation action that draws heat out of the surrounding air, including any air contained in a room. The unit’s fan then blows across metal fins fitted over the coils, creating the sensation of cooling in the room.
Energy Saving Steps
After the liquid refrigerant has turned into a cold gas once more and re-enters the compressor, the entire process starts again until the thermostat notices a specific temperature and turns off the compressor. If the room warms up, the thermostat will know and the compressor comes back on to do its job.
And that’s a day in the life of an air conditioning system!