Cooling 101 - How Central Air Conditioning Units Operate

Posted by Atilano on April 18th, 2021

Can you picture life without a/c? Sweltering heat waves that can melt the rubber on your shoes, prepare an egg on the dashboard of your vehicle, and make it almost difficult to have a good night's rest-- sounds miserable!

Let's face it, life without A/C wouldn't be the exact same. Did you understand, that prior to the 20th century, ice was really gathered for refrigeration? It was cut into 1-ton blocks, provided throughout the country and utilized in 'ice-boxes' to keep food fresh. The good news is today, refrigeration has been considerably enhanced since its introduction in 1834.

By knowing how your house's A/C system works, you'll have the ability to make it run much better and longer, and if it should break during the pet days of summertime, more positive discovering a replacement.

What is Central Air Conditioning?

Because the 1960s, central air conditioning systems have actually been the most typical design of cooling in America.

Best identified by the condenser unit outdoors and ducts carrying cool air throughout the house, a main air conditioning is in some cases described as a "split-system" due to the fact that the indoor and outdoor elements are separated.

How It Works

Comparable to how a sponge soaks up water, central air conditioning conditioners take in the heat from inside the home and eject it outside through a process called "the refrigeration cycle."

It's simple to comprehend how an ac system works as soon as you see how the parts operate together.

Parts of an Air Conditioning System

Divide into two parts; a system will include an outside condenser unit (below) and a coil housed on top of the heating system or inside air handler. The outdoor condenser, which does many of the work, operates in tandem with the air handler/furnace that disperses the conditioned air into rooms of your house.

The Refrigeration Cycle

The cooling process begins when the thermostat discovers the interior temperature has risen above the setpoint. It indicates the control board in the air handler and goes into action.

1) The internal blower draws in the hot, moist indoor air from the return ducts into the air handler/furnace cabinet to be conditioned.

2) Filthy air getting in the cabinet first goes through an air filter that traps dirt and debris.

3) The tidy air then passes through the evaporator coil. Using metal fins to increase its surface location, the evaporator coil extracts heat and moisture from air conditioning in edmonton the warm air as the air travels through it. The tidy, cool air is flowed throughout the home.

4) A pair of copper tubes consisting of refrigerant, called a Line Set, link the indoor coil with the outdoor condenser.

5) The condenser dissipates the heat trapped inside the line coming from the evaporator coil by cycling it through its coils where a fan on top pushes air to accelerate the process. The refrigerant is then compressed and travels back to the indoor evaporator coil, where the cooling process continues.

HEATING AND COOLING Cheat Sheet

It's a good idea to familiarize yourself with the technical language utilized by HEATING AND COOLING experts to understand your system when it comes to making repair work or buying a new system.

HEATING AND COOLING - Stands for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. This acronym is utilized to classify all equipment used to regulate air temperature level, humidity, and air quality.

Split-System - In referral to parts of the system operating both indoors and outdoors. In a split system, the condensing system is discovered outside.

BTU - British Thermal Units - a measurement of how much heat energy can be gotten rid of from the air in an hour.

Load - A measurement that describes the cooling capability your system can provide under normal conditions. 1 Lot is equal to roughly 12,000 BTU's. Heaps are frequently utilized when sizing a system for your home, which can be figured out based upon the square footage required to be cooled or heated.

Unrivaled Know-how

Conveniently, the furnace, a/c, and electrical systems all work automatically, without us needing to fumble around in the basement or worse, a hot attic. Till something goes incorrect.

Understanding your cooling system may appear frustrating in the beginning, however once you have the basics down, you'll have the ability to understand not only how your system works, however also decipher jargon to make buying a replacement simple.