How Your Does Air Conditioning Unit Work?
The internal components of an air conditioner
Air Conditioning units are available in various types:
the most common is a wall-mounted unit (also known as midwall) Within this scope of units, there are other types of air conditioners and an option for many buildings, like multi-split, ducted systems, cassettes type, window type and floor mounted consoles.
No matter what type of air conditioner we’re referring to (split system, multi-split, or ducted) every air conditioner will have the same key components.
INDOOR UNIT COMPONENTS
Evaporator Coil:
This is located in the indoor unit of the Split system and is made of copper piping which is inside a rows of aluminum fins, both materials of which are good for transferring heat. An evaporator coil is what delivers cool air indoors and it also removes the heat from the air in the room. It works together with the indoor unit's internal blower fan and the refrigerant inside the coil
Expansion Valve:
Another crucial component is the expansion valve, which performs the vital role of controlling the amount of refrigerant flowing into the evaporator coil, improving user control over the unit’s performance. This component is important because through controlling the amount of refrigerant flowing back into the evaporator coil, and letting small amounts through, it causes it to expand, causing the pressure to drop and the temperature with it
Refrigerant:
The cooling cycle would be impossible without refrigerant. If the compressor is the heart of the system, then refrigerant is the blood. Refrigerant is used because of its ability to shift from a liquid (cool state) to a gas (heated state), and helps carry the heat from the indoor unit to the outdoor unit, and then, on its way back, cooling into your home.
OUTDOOR UNIT COMPONENTS
Compressor:
The compressor is the most important part of any air conditioner. It compresses the refrigerant and increases its pressure before sending it to the condenser. The size of the compressor varies depending on the desired air conditioning load. In most of the domestic split air conditioners hermetically sealed type of compressor is used. In such compressors, the motor used for driving the shaft is located inside the sealed unit and it is not visible externally.
Condenser:
Also found in the outdoor unit, and it works with its own fan that blows the air across the condenser coil to transfer the heat. Using a similar structure to the Evaporator Coil, this component is available in various sizes and formats, for example, a double-fan option is used for high-capacity units and offers increased efficiency. In most Residential and Light Commercial Air Conditioning applications, a single-fan Condenser is preferred because this means a smaller outdoor unit.
Condenser Cooling Fan
The heat generated within the compressor has to be thrown out else the compressor will get too hot in the long run and its motor coils will burn leading to a complete breakdown of the compressor and the whole air conditioner. Further, the refrigerant within the condenser coil has to be cooled so that after expansion its temperature becomes low enough to produce the cooling effect and this job is done by the condenser cooling fan which is an ordinary fan with three or four blades and is driven by a motor. The cooling fan is located in front of the compressor and the condenser coil. As the blades of the fan rotate it absorbs the surrounding air from the open space and blows it over the compressor and the condenser with the aluminum fins thus cooling them.
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