Learn how an air conditioning system works, courtesy of Airrific Air Conditioning and Heating in Southwest Florida.

Air Conditioners

Packaged Air Conditioning Systems

Many people believe that an air conditioner (AC) unit lowers the temperature inside their homes or offices simply by pumping cool air in. What is really taking place is the warm air from your home is being removed and then cycled back in as cooler air. This cycle continues until your thermostat reaches the desired temperature, called "setpoint".

An air conditioner is basically a refrigerator without the insulated box. It uses the evaporation qualities of a refrigerant (freon) to provide cooling.

This is how the evaporation cycle in an air conditioner works:

The compressor compresses the cool refrigerant gas, causing it to become hot, high pressure refrigerant gas. This hot gas runs through a set of condenser coils, so it can dissipate its heat, and it condenses into a liquid.

The refrigerant liquid runs through an expansion valve and, in the process, it evaporates to become cold, low pressure refrigerant gas. This cold gas runs through a set of coils that a blower then distributes back into your home, thus cooling it down.

Split System Air Conditioning Units

A split system air conditioning (AC) system splits the hot side from the cold side of the system into two different units. The cold side, consisting of the expansion valve and the evaporator coil is typically located inside an air handler or furnace. The air handler is usually placed out of sight inside your home, in a utility closet crawl space area. It blows air through a coil that contains cooled refrigerant and routes the cooled air throughout the building using a series of ducts. The hot side, known as the condensing unit, is housed outside the building. This unit consists of a long spiral coil shaped like a cylinder. Inside the coil is a fan to blow air across the coil, along with a weather resistant compressor that cools the refrigerant and starts the air conditioning process over again.

Now you know the basics of how an air conditioning system functions.