How Do Air Conditioners Work?

Air conditioner systems are one of mankind’s best inventions. During these hot and humid months of Summer, we have a new appreciation for it with the systems keeping our homes and business cool. Have you ever thought to yourself how an air conditioning system might work? These air conditioning systems work very similarly to the hardware and technology in a refrigerator. Our NJ Air Conditioner Service experts gave us the gist of how an air conditioning system works.

The Air Conditioner Process

Air conditioners are a single portion of a central heating and cooling system that draws air from outside of the home and transfers it accordingly. The overall idea is that the air conditioner removes any warm air from inside your home or business and draws it outside. While removing the warm air, the system will replace it with cooler air to cool down space. The entire process of maintaining a comfortable temperature in your home or business is broken down into science and mechanical ingenuity.

Your air conditioning system uses chemicals that change the state of gas to liquid then back once more. This chemical process creates a way for the heat inside your space to be removed and sent into the outside air. Three key parts make up an air conditioning unit. These three key parts are the evaporator, condenser, and compressor. The condenser and compressor are located outside of your property that handle that side of the process. The evaporator is located inside your property.

The compressor squeezes a cooling gas/fluid and the air molecules tightly together. The tighter these molecules get, the higher the energy will go. This fluid leaves the compressor as a hot pressurized gas to make its way to the condenser. The condenser works like a radiator of a car, which utilizes fins to remove heat quickly. The condenser works to convert the hot gas to a cooler liquid in preparation to be sent through the evaporator. The evaporator removes the pressure from the liquid, which converts it into a cool gas. While this conversion of states takes place, the evaporator is slowly removing hot air from your home to pump into complete the chemical process and start to lower the current temperature of the property. Eventually, the chilled gas is pumped into the property and the hot air is removed from the space. This process repeats multiple times until the temperature is reached that your thermostat is set to. Once the temperature is reached, the air conditioning system shuts off and will not kick back on unless it starts heating up again. Great insulation can help delay kicking the system on and off constantly, which lowers cost and helps with the durability of your system.

If you have any questions or would like to make an appointment about your air conditioning system, reach out to Fante’s PHVAC today at 1-609-445-2939!