How Does an Air Conditioner Work?

07/18/2016
The temperatures are reaching record highs throughout the states and the majority of homes are utilizing some variety of air conditioner to combat the summer heat. While we are all thankful that your air conditioner runs, the experts at All Seasons Comfort Systems Inc in Reeds Spring would like to tell you how it works.

There’s a lot of science behind keeping your living space cool. Your air conditioner functions in a comparable way to your refrigerator, of course your AC has a more difficult task to manage. Both your fridge and AC cool with a reoccurring loop of refrigerant, in your air conditioner this refrigerant loops from inside to outside your home. This refrigerant effortlessly changes from a liquid to gas and back to a liquid again. It enters your home as a sub-cooled liquid and as it evaporates it takes in heat from your indoor air and expands back into vapor. This vapor then moves back to your outdoor unit where the heat is let go and is then condensed back into a sub-cooled liquid.

There are 4 central elements to your air conditioner unit: a compressor, an evaporator coil, the condensing coil and an expansion valve.
The evaporator coil is the place your refrigerant evaporates from a sub-cooled liquid into a super-heated vapor. This component can be found inside your home, in your garage or possibly in your attic. Warm air moves through the cold evaporator coil and the heat is separated from the air. This cooled air is then sent throughout your home.

Your compressor is located in your outdoor condensing unit. The super-heated vapor from your evaporator coil goes into the compressor which raises the pressure of the vapor until it is converted into hot, high pressure vapor. The hot vapor then goes back into the condenser coil where less hot outdoor air flows across the coil, heat is released outdoors and the refrigerant is converted back into a sub-cooled liquid. This sub-cooled liquid is then returned to the indoor evaporator coil and through an expansion valve or metering device. The process is then repeated.

That accomplishes your physics lesson of the day…your air conditioner runs on an relentless loop of science. We understand that it’s not as top-priority to you how it works, but that it’s working. If you’d like to talk about staying cool and comfortable in Reeds Spring give us a call at 417-739-4606 or set up an appointment using our online scheduler. With the help of our team and science we’re going to make it through this sweltering summer.