The weather is hitting record highs across the states and the majority of homes are utilizing some type of air conditioner to combat the seasonal heat. While we are all thankful that your air conditioner is functioning, the experts at Select Comfort Systems Heating & Air Conditioning in West Valley City wants to give you a glimpse at just how an AC system works.
The Basics
There’s a lot of science involved in keeping your house at a comfortable temperature. Your air conditioner functions in a similar way to your refrigerator, however your AC has a more difficult responsibility to tackle. Both your fridge and AC cool with a consistent loop of refrigerant, however with the air conditioner this refrigerant loops from inside to to the external part of your home. This refrigerant quickly converts 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 soaks in heat from your indoor air and turns back into vapor. This vapor then moves back to the unit located outdoors where the heat is let go and is then condensed back into a sub-cooled liquid.
Four Components
There are 4 main sections to your cooling system: a compressor, an evaporator coil, the condensing coil and an expansion valve.
The evaporator coil is where your refrigerant evaporates from a sub-cooled liquid into a super-heated vapor. This component can be found inside your home, in your garage or even in your attic. Warm air transports through the cold evaporator coil and the heat is taken 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 increases the pressure of the vapor until it is changed into hot, high pressure vapor. The hot vapor then enters back into the condenser coil where less hot outdoor air flows across the coil, heat is pushed outdoors and the refrigerant is converted back into a sub-cooled liquid. This sub-cooled liquid is then returned to the indoor evaporator coil by an expansion valve or metering device. The process is then repeated.
That concludes your physics lesson of the day…your air conditioner runs on an never-ending loop of science. We understand that it’s not as top-priority to you how it works, but that you are staying cool. If you’d like to talk about staying cool and comfortable in West Valley City you can reach us at 801-305-4777. With the help of our team and science we’re going to make it through this sweltering summer.