Air conditioning helps make our hot and muggy summers in Northeast Ohio much easier to endure. Even though this technology is essential in most homes these days, how an air conditioner works remains a mystery to many. In principle, all an air conditioning system does is remove heat from your home and expel it outside.
The three main parts of an air conditioner that accomplish this welcome cooling are the compressor and the condenser (both in the outside unit in a split system), and the indoor evaporator/air handler.
- The compressor changes gaseous refrigerant into a liquid. The liquid circulates through the evaporator coil, where the blower fan sends air across it. Since the refrigerant is so cold, it removes the excess heat from your home’s air.
- The evaporator coil sits inside the blower and it’s designed to make the heat removal system as efficient as possible. When it removes the heat, the refrigerant turns into a gas and it’s pumped outdoors to the condenser coil.
- The outdoor unit has a large fan that pulls air over the condenser coil through which the hot refrigerant flows. The heat is expelled into the outdoor air and the refrigerant flows back into the compressor where it’s turned back into a liquid, flowing back into the evaporator coil until the temperature reaches the thermostat’s setting
The other parts of the system include the ductwork that delivers the cooled air throughout a network that terminates in register vents in your rooms. Return ducts bring the air back to the blower for further cooling. The blower houses the fan that blows the air over the evaporator coil for more heat extraction.
In order for the system to work efficiently, all parts need to be as clean as possible and adjusted within close tolerances. Keeping the filter and the coils clean is the single-most important thing you can do to keep your system running at its best.
To learn about your air conditioner and keeping it in top form, please contact us at Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning. We provide trusted HVAC services for Lorain, Erie and Cuyahoga counties.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Lorain, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about air conditioning and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning
1 (440) 246-5440
Serving the Lorain, OH Area