Posts Tagged how does central air conditioning work
How Does Central Air Conditioning Work?
Posted by Tony in How Air Conditioner Units Work on July 30th, 2011
No doubt you are know that air conditioner units come in many forms, including portable air conditioners, dual hosed and single hosed units, heat and cool units, window and through the wall units, evaporative coolers and absorptive chillers. What we are looking at here is just another method, but how does central air conditioning work?
All primary home air conditioning systems tend to work on similar principals and central air conditioners are purpose built to cool the entire home. They use ducts to disperse and recycle cooled air throughout rooms on a continuous basis. Some models may also move chilled water via pipes and heat exchangers.
Frequently, you will find a split system where the condenser and compressor are located outdoors and connected by refrigerant lines to a coil (or evaporator) in the in the air handler unit. Such a unit basically resembles a metal box that may comprise of a blower, filters, heating/cooling elements, humidifier, mixing chamber, controls and vibration isolators. With a singular ‘packaged’ system, everything is normally located in a single outdoor unit.
In a split system, heat from the home is transferred to the outside using a compressor cycle that works similarly to a refrigerator. A refrigerant fluid is passed through an expansion device which changes from liquid to gas when it absorbs heat and is then released outdoors at high pressure as vapour before changing back from gas to liquid. The fluid will then return to the expansion device and the process repeated. The air in the home is cooled as it travels over the evaporator; the moisture removed from the air and disposed by the unit via the normal household drainage system.
Central air conditioning has a few benefits over other systems as the air is drawn through a filter. This filter extracts any dust and lint particles cleaning the air as well as cooling it. Additionally, specialist filters can also remove microscopic pollutants which can affect health. A further benefit is that noise is reduced as the unit is external to the building.
Central air conditioning is an efficient system but you do need to try and get the highest SEER rating you can afford (the range is 10 to 17). (SEER refers to the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio.) If the unit carries the Energy Star label, it will have a SEER of at least 13 for a split system and 12 for a single unit.
Hope the above helps!
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Do It Yourself Air Conditioning Maintenance
When the time comes, you will be able to find a lot of information on just what to do on the Internet, at the library and from the system manufacturers. However, if there is a major problem, such as with the condenser or refrigeration unit you still may need to get a qualified engineer to fix your system.
The basic things you should be doing are to clean or replace the filter. Then vacuum or brush the condenser coils after removing the covers. Be very careful not to damage the coils or fins. Check the condenser drain and the fan is clean and check the mountings are secure and everything is oiled.
Don’t forget to clean the external vent regularly as this will allow the system to be more effective.
Do not attempt any do it yourself air conditioning maintenance if you are unsure of what you are doing or it could cost you dearly, particularly if it is in the condenser or refrigeration unit as previously mentioned. Otherwise, a lot of it is basic common sense, a screwdriver, a brush and a cloth!
