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How Does Air Conditioning Actually Work?

air conditioning installation

When the temperatures rise outside, the last thing you want to be is hot and uncomfortable in your home; that’s when you head to your thermostat to turn your air conditioning on. But have you ever wondered how your air conditioning actually works? Here, our air conditioning installation experts explain:

Air conditioners primarily use a chemical called refrigerant to cool down your home. This chemical is looped through both your indoor and outdoor HVAC units and absorbs heat along the way. Once the heat is absorbed, the refrigerant can be used to cool down the air and circulate it throughout your home.

Components of an Air Conditioner

There are three main components of an air conditioner: The compressor, the condenser, and the evaporator. The compressor and condenser are usually located in the outside unit while the evaporator is located in the inside unit. Here are the main jobs of each component:

  • Compressor: the compressor is responsible for squeezing the cool refrigerant gas in order to pack the molecules tighter together. This makes the temperature and energy of the gas rise.
  • Condenser: the condenser is responsible for dissipating the heat from the high-pressure, hot gas that came from the compressor and turning it back into a liqud. It does this by spinning metal fins (much like a radiator).
  • Evaporator: the evaporator is responsible for evaporating the cooled refrigerant liquid back into a gas. When this happens, heat is extracted from the surrounding air with the help of metal fins. There is also a fan inside that circulates cooled air across the fins.

Cooled Air

Once the refrigerant leaves the evaporator, it’s in the form of a chilled gas and is circulated back to the compressor where the process starts all over again. As the refrigerant leaves the evaporator to start over, the cooled air is sucked up by the HVAC unit into your home’s ductwork and is circulated throughout your home, giving you air conditioning.

As the process repeats, more air conditioner is pumped into your home and once it reaches the right temperature, the system will click off. When the room heats back up, your HVAC system will start the process over again.

Trust Oliver

If you’re in need of a new HVAC system, don’t hesitate to contact the air conditioning installation experts at Oliver. We can help you decide on the perfect system for your home and install it professionally. If, on the other hand, your HVAC system is in need of a repair, we can diagnose the problem and get it fixed quickly. Leave all of your air conditioning needs to Oliver!

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