What
It Is
An air conditioner can change the temperature, humidity or general quality of the air. More
specifically, an air conditioner makes your home cooler, by drawing heat energy
out of the house and transferring that heat to the outdoors, then replacing the
air inside your home with cooler air.
How
It Works
The air conditioner in a central heating and cooling system provides cool air
through ductwork inside your home, by providing a process that draws out the
warm air inside, removing its heat. In a split system, the compressor condenses
and circulates the refrigerant through the outdoor unit, changing it from a gas
to a liquid. The liquid is then forced through the indoor evaporator coil or
cooling compartment. The indoor unit’s fan circulates the inside air to pass
across the evaporator fins. The evaporator’s metal fins exchange the thermal energy
with the air around it. There, the refrigerant turns from liquid into vapor,
removing any heat from the surrounding air. As the heat is removed from the
air, the air is cooled and blown back into the house.
From that point, the condenser or outdoor unit then turns the refrigerant vapor
back into a liquid, removing any heat. By the time the fluid leaves the
evaporator again, it is a cool, low-pressure gas, eventually returning to the condenser
to begin its trip all over again. This process continues again and again until
your home reaches the cooling temperature you want, as programmed and sensed by
your thermostat setting.