Enjoy Air Conditioning in Comfort
As you sit back and relax in the air conditioned comfort of your home, you probably aren't thinking about the equipment that makes it possible. We take air conditioning for granted now, but it hasn't been all that long since air conditioning was not available in a typical home.
Commercial air conditioning was developed just over 100 years ago, and it didn't start becoming common in residential applications until about 60 years ago. It was first used primarily in homes in the warmer parts of the USA. Air conditioning only started becoming more common in the northern parts of the country during the past 30 to 40 years and there are still many older homes that don't have it yet.
Without an air conditioning system, you just had to grin and bear it on those hot, humid days. If you were lucky there might be a breeze blowing through the window, or you could find some relief with the help of an electric fan.
Now you can find comfort on the hottest, muggiest days of the year. All it takes is the flip of a switch to create a comfortably cool place to relax. And that switch is automatic in the form of a thermostat.
So what does this wonderful device do? Your heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system controls the temperature by adding or removing heat in the air that is circulated throughout your home. It also controls the moisture content (humidity) by removing, or sometimes adding moisture to the air. In addition, it cleans the air by removing unwanted particles through filters.
The cooling and moisture removal is done with a refrigeration system which basically transports heat from where it is not wanted (inside) to a place where it doesn't matter (outside). The evaporator or inside coil has a supply of refrigerant which is kept at a low pressure, and therefore a low temperature, by drawing off the vapor as it evaporates. The heat from the warm air in the house flows to the cold refrigerant in the coils. The air is now colder and some moisture has also been condensed out onto the cold evaporator coil.
A compressor draws the refrigerant vapor from the evaporator and raises the pressure, and therefore the temperature, to a level that is greater than the outside air temperature and discharges it to the condenser coil, or outside coil. The heat flows from the very hot refrigerant to the outside air, which is not as hot. The refrigerant condenses back to a liquid state and then returns to the evaporator coil through a metering device.
When heating is required, the air is either directed through a gas or oil fired heat exchanger, heated via an electric heating element, or in the case of a heat pump, by reversing the refrigerant cycle so the roles of the evaporator and condenser coils are switched.
In order to ensure efficient and safe operation, it is important to regularly clean or replace the air filter. The system should also be checked at least annually by a qualified air conditioning technician to verify proper operation, refrigerant charge, and mechanical integrity. Then
Commercial air conditioning was developed just over 100 years ago, and it didn't start becoming common in residential applications until about 60 years ago. It was first used primarily in homes in the warmer parts of the USA. Air conditioning only started becoming more common in the northern parts of the country during the past 30 to 40 years and there are still many older homes that don't have it yet.
Without an air conditioning system, you just had to grin and bear it on those hot, humid days. If you were lucky there might be a breeze blowing through the window, or you could find some relief with the help of an electric fan.
Now you can find comfort on the hottest, muggiest days of the year. All it takes is the flip of a switch to create a comfortably cool place to relax. And that switch is automatic in the form of a thermostat.
So what does this wonderful device do? Your heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system controls the temperature by adding or removing heat in the air that is circulated throughout your home. It also controls the moisture content (humidity) by removing, or sometimes adding moisture to the air. In addition, it cleans the air by removing unwanted particles through filters.
The cooling and moisture removal is done with a refrigeration system which basically transports heat from where it is not wanted (inside) to a place where it doesn't matter (outside). The evaporator or inside coil has a supply of refrigerant which is kept at a low pressure, and therefore a low temperature, by drawing off the vapor as it evaporates. The heat from the warm air in the house flows to the cold refrigerant in the coils. The air is now colder and some moisture has also been condensed out onto the cold evaporator coil.
A compressor draws the refrigerant vapor from the evaporator and raises the pressure, and therefore the temperature, to a level that is greater than the outside air temperature and discharges it to the condenser coil, or outside coil. The heat flows from the very hot refrigerant to the outside air, which is not as hot. The refrigerant condenses back to a liquid state and then returns to the evaporator coil through a metering device.
When heating is required, the air is either directed through a gas or oil fired heat exchanger, heated via an electric heating element, or in the case of a heat pump, by reversing the refrigerant cycle so the roles of the evaporator and condenser coils are switched.
In order to ensure efficient and safe operation, it is important to regularly clean or replace the air filter. The system should also be checked at least annually by a qualified air conditioning technician to verify proper operation, refrigerant charge, and mechanical integrity. Then
