How Does Central Air Conditioning Work?
In order to choose the right central AC system, we believe that our clients must understand how their ACs work. A central system uses a simple layout to bring cool air into your interior spaces. By localizing the mechanical components of your air conditioner to one place, we can dictate where cool air is sucked in and where best to direct it when cooling an entire building.
From one central point, air is cooled and can then be sent throughout your building space via vents and exhausts. It’s all customizable. Through a strategic layout of ducts and vents, we can direct cooled air at the intensity and rate you prefer. Though the central system you install is placed where it’s unseen, a thermostat gives you control of that system remotely. We install those too. To get the best service, we encourage you to start with learning about the anatomy of AC and how it achieves your ideal settings.
Following is an overview of the fundamental science that makes central AC possible.
The Art of Removing Heat
The air conditioning system you have, though eventually pushing out cool air, doesn’t work by making the air cool directly. Air conditioning works by removing heated particles from the air within your interior spaces. On a hot day, heated particles are in every space of your home as that space receives air from outside. Through a mechanical process that gets gases flowing in a condensation-to-evaporation cycle, the heated particles within your spaces are reduced, being “conditioned” after passing over your AC’s parts.
The complete mechanics of air conditioning rely on an enclosed cycle that keeps air flowing in order to filter out exact temperatures from it. What’s being filtered are particles that sustain higher temperature levels than the settings in your AC allows. Those particles are removed through a scientific process that generates negative pressure, forcing heat to pass over mechanical parts that have lower temperatures than the air passing over them has. These particles are cooled but by having their heat taken away.
Lowering Humidity
You might have seen an AC unit running and dripping fluids from its underside. Condensation is what your AC works to achieve with both its internal gases and the air in your home. Though condensation is normal to a degree, drastic amounts of condensation are a result of high humidity levels within your interior spaces. The water that you’ve seen collecting is a result of moisture collected from the air as your AC’s negative pressure attracts gases.
You might not always see the humidity being regulated by your AC, but moisture is lowered by default, resulting from the way that modern AC systems work. You can encounter a number of problems if you don’t keep high levels of humidity down with a properly functioning AC.
For example, allergies can be triggered by humidity, which has the capacity to encapsulate particles and allergens and trap them in the air. This can cause those with allergies to have negative reactions. The bronchi, which is the group of air channels in the lungs, will constrict and form mucus because of the allergens found in overly humid air. Humid air is harder to breathe, even for people who don’t have allergies or chronic respiratory conditions.
Additionally, when your windows are full of condensation, they will collect dirt, obscure your view and become a routine-cleaning task. Condensation on your windows is a sign to look for when determining how high your humidity is. Mold, which is a class of fungi, prefers moist, damp, dark, and cold conditions and grows quickly. Moisture is a key ingredient likely to invite mold into your building. Mold is toxic when it’s inhaled for long periods of time, and it is expensive and time-consuming to remove.
Refrigerants and the Role That They Play
Refrigerants, though commonly engineered as liquids, have gaseous points that are easy to reach. Air conditioning relies on compression cycles. By converting liquids to gas and then the same gases into liquids, AC systems create their own condensation. Air and other gases have to cool before they can condense into liquids. The modern mechanics of refrigeration is efficient because we can quickly condense gases and evaporate liquids via refrigerants.
Refrigerants are pivotal in your AC’s cooling process. These fluids are easy to maintain and have a shelf life lasting your entire life. This means you don’t need to consistently replace your refrigerants or worry otherwise. If your fluid does need replacing, [company name] offers expedient services for the installation, repair, and maintenance of your AC’s refrigerants.
The Compressor
The compressor is the mechanical heart of your AC unit. This engine creates a pressurizing force that moves your refrigerants around. Compression force reduces the volume of gases within an enclosed container. This force is also vital in creating condensation, for it lowers temps and absorbs heat from your air.
Since your AC components are enclosed, the compressor is needed to create enough pressure for a continuous flow of refrigerants. Though an actual engine, the compressor uses the physics of a drinking straw to get its contents moving. When you inhale in a straw, the contents, be it air or fluid, at the end of it is sucked in. Compressors do the same, using an enclosure to keep refrigerants at high pressure.
The Condenser Coil
The condenser coil is connected to the compressor and receives liquid refrigerants from it. This coil is a container that houses liquid refrigerants that were once gases. The coil is where the condensation caused by modern air conditioning is stored. The coil’s shape is cylindrical for this reason; compressed liquids need to cycle through the condenser before moving on. Condenser coils are metallic containers that enable the physics of radiation to absorb heat.
The Evaporator Coils
The evaporator coil is where the vapors of your refrigerants release the heat they obtained when they were in liquid form. The heat absorbed by your AC results in its refrigerants being evaporated. The issue with hot, evaporated gases is your AC’s need to sustain condensation and cool temperatures indefinitely. Gases that condense only keep their liquid form when kept cool or compressed under pressure; therefore, the vapor coils prepare hot gases for re-cooling.
What The Best Services in Air Conditioning Can Do
Understanding the AC in your Houston home might be a lot to handle, but a professional can help to make things simpler. Making a decision about your air conditioner means knowing the options. From installing smart thermostats to central heating, [company name] isn’t limited to replacing Freon. We’ve been a family-owned business since 1969, and we are proud to stand behind our work with our 100% customer satisfaction guarantee. We can assist you with maintenance on many of your appliances, and we offer great financing options too. No matter your needs, cooling, heating, and home automation are always possible. Call us today.