How Home Air Conditioner Systems Work
Air conditioning is integral in creating a healthy home or work environment, maintaining comfortable temperatures for family and employees to ensure they remain alert and productive throughout their shift.
As opposed to relying on traditional duct systems for cooling air distribution, portable systems use cold evaporator coils to pull hot indoor air across an evaporator coil, cooling it as it passes over. However, if you really want to know how these machines work, read the following article.
Cooling
Air conditioning systems work by extracting heat and humidity from indoor spaces and dissipating it outdoors, cooling the air in the process. They do these using basic scientific principles in combination with numerous mechanical and electrical components.
Air conditioners come in all sorts of sizes and configurations to meet various needs and spaces. A small portable air conditioner may suffice for cooling a single room in a home or apartment while larger central systems can cool whole buildings or homes efficiently.
All air conditioning systems use a basic cooling process, though their methods vary considerably. You can read this air conditioner system guide for more information. Otherwise, just know that the thermostat controls and monitors indoor temperature, sending signals to air conditioner components when desired temperatures have been reached or when cooling cycles need to begin.
Once the thermostat detects that air temperature has reached its target level, an indoor air conditioner’s fan begins drawing warm air in through return air ducts and passing it over a cold evaporator coil, cooling it before pushing back out through supply air ducts to be redistributed throughout your home.
Dehumidifying
Some AC systems provide dehumidifiers as add-on options, but we do not advise using your HVAC system to remove humidity as this would force it to work harder than designed and require more frequent repairs than if left to do what it was designed to do in the first place.
Air conditioning systems use chilled air to run over coils that filter out water vapor from it, with the evaporator coils located inside your home and the condenser located outside, in order to dehumidify air in order to circulate it back through ducts back into your living space.
Evaporator coils should be treated with an antifungal agent to inhibit mold and mildew growth, an essential step in keeping evaporator coils clean because these mold and mildew growths cause unpleasant smells in your home and may lead to respiratory irritation in humans.
Dehumidifiers also utilize heat pumps to introduce more humidity into the conditioned air that they dehumidify, due to how relative temperature and humidity are intrinsically linked – rising temperatures lead to decreased relative humidity while vice versa, leading to condensation on air conditioner evaporator coils and condensation build-up on their coils.
Newer AC systems come equipped with the capability of dehumidifying without cooling simultaneously (models registered here: https://www.federalregister.gov/energy-conservation-program-energy-conservation-standards), although their amount of dehumidification still falls short of that provided by standalone dehumidifiers. Using so much energy increases utility bills significantly.
Filtration
Air filters are an integral component of home air conditioning systems, working to trap airborne pollutants that enter and pollute your AC unit, as well as protect against pathogens spread throughout the house. They are easily available at hardware stores and online retailers and come in various sizes to fit return vents and air handling units in either new construction or existing homes; usually located in utility closets for garages.
A typical air filter consists of a fiberglass mesh with holes or pores designed to filter large particles while trapping smaller ones. Even basic air filters can effectively eliminate particles like dust, smoke and smog from entering; while more advanced units can capture biological contaminants such as bacteria and viruses.
Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value, or MERV rating, measures how effectively an air filter captures small particles, helping consumers select an effective filter for their particular needs. People with allergies or asthma should purchase high MERV rating air filters while those without such concerns can purchase lower-rated models.
Noise
Cooling systems produce various sounds when they run, some of them normal while others indicate something may be amiss. Squealing, clicking, buzzing, banging and hissing noises all indicate there may be an issue with your cooling system and can create discomfort for occupants as well as result in costly repairs or replacement parts being necessary.
According to this link, a variety of air conditioning system designs and design criteria can have an enormous impact on sound levels in a space. Selecting quieter fan types with larger fan sizes, using lined or noise-reducing duct components and adding noise diffusers may all help reduce sound levels in a room. In addition, compressors, refrigerant piping and fan motor selection plays a key role; noisy ones could include those not properly sized or with worn bearings that impede proper functioning.
Clicking noises are common among older systems and may indicate an electrical problem. They might occur at either end of a cooling cycle or continue throughout, making diagnosis challenging without professional help. Technicians will likely check relay switches, capacitors and compressors; additionally the thermostat may need replacing in some instances.