The temps are hitting record numbers across the country and most homes are using some type of air conditioner to combat the summer heat. Although we are all grateful that your air conditioner is functioning, the professionals at B & B Heating & Cooling in Florissant would like to tell you how it works.
The Basics
There’s a lot of science regarding keeping your house cooler. Your air conditioner operates in a comparable way to your refrigerator, of course your cooling system has a larger responsibility to manage. Both your fridge and AC cool with a reoccurring loop of refrigerant, however with the air conditioner this refrigerant loops from inside to the outdoors. This refrigerant quickly changes from a liquid to gas and back to a liquid again. It flows into your house as a sub-cooled liquid and as it evaporates it takes in heat from your indoor air and reverts 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.
Four Components
There are 4 main components to your cooling system: a compressor, an evaporator coil, the condensing coil and an expansion valve.
The evaporator coil is the location your refrigerant evaporates from a sub-cooled liquid into a super-heated vapor. This component can be established in the home, in your garage or sometimes in your attic. Warm air moves throughout the cold evaporator coil and the heat is removed from the air. This cooled air is then transferred throughout your home.
Your compressor sits in your outdoor condensing unit. The super-heated vapor from your evaporator coil enters into the compressor which surges the pressure of the vapor until it is changed into hot, high pressure vapor. The hot vapor then moves back into the condenser coil where less hot outdoor air moves across the coil, heat is moved outdoors and the refrigerant is adapted back into a sub-cooled liquid. This sub-cooled liquid is then returned to the indoor evaporator coil via an expansion valve or metering device. This continues repeatedly throughout the process.
That accomplishes your physics lesson today…your air conditioner operates on an relentless loop of science. We know that it’s not as crucial to you how it works, but just the fact it’s running. If you’d like to talk about staying cool and comfortable in Florissant give us a call at 314-325-7552. You’ll be able to get through this hot weather thanks to science and the support from our experts.