Few things can be more refreshing in the summer than the blast of cool air from your HVAC unit. But do you know how much effort goes into delivering that cool air to your Northeastern Oklahoma home? When you understand the basic HVAC science behind how your air-conditioning system works, you'll appreciate the system more and take better care of it, lowering the need for AC repairs and prolonging its longevity.
The HVAC Science Behind How HVAC Units Work
AC units utilize refrigerant to cool your home. The refrigerant continuously changes between liquid and gaseous states within your AC coils. It moves from inside to outside your home and back again, extracting heat from your home's air and transferring it outside in the process.
Your air conditioner draws room-temperature air in through your return registers to cool it. The air passes through the air filter, which captures dirt and debris to protect delicate AC components. Fans blow the air across the evaporator coil inside your home, which contains cold liquid refrigerant. The refrigerant absorbs heat from the air and evaporates to vapor, whereas the air concurrently becomes colder after having its heat removed.
The blower circulates the cooled air through your ducts and supply registers into your home. The vaporized refrigerant, on the other hand, flows outside your home into the compressor. Here, the refrigerant is pressurized and heated further to prepare it to release its heat to the outdoor air.
The hot pressurized refrigerant then moves into the condenser, where it condenses into a liquid as the heat absorbed from inside your house radiates away. Outdoor AC units usually have metal fins and a large fan to quicken the heat dissipation. The refrigerant then flows back inside through an expansion valve that depressurizes it, causing its temperature to drop significantly. At this point, the refrigerant is ready to start the cooling cycle again, all thanks to HVAC science doing its thing.
As you can see from the HVAC science behind air conditioners, a number of components and processes are involved in cooling your home. Therefore, ensure you carry out the necessary AC maintenance steps, such as changing your air filter regularly and scheduling annual maintenance, to keep your system operating properly. Contact us at Air Assurance for all your HVAC installation, repair, and maintenance needs in the Broken Arrow area.