How Does an Air Conditioner Work?

We know that air conditioners keep our homes cool in the summer time. Not everyone has an AC, and not everyone needs one. You can survive without them, but they certainly make your home much more comfortable during the summer months.

So, we’ve established they are useful machines, and much like any other piece of equipment in your home, it only makes sense to understand what it’s doing.

Now, there is no need to get too serious or try to study the ins and outs of HVAC systems. There’s a lot to know, and it makes more sense to hire a professional technician when things go haywire.

But to be a responsible homeowner, you need to be aware of the utilities that you and your family are using. We believe part of that awareness includes knowing a little bit about your air conditioner and how it works.

It helps to understand that your AC isn’t really creating cold air in your home. Instead, think of it as removing the warm air. Heat is present in the air no matter what temperature you’re dealing with, so the idea of “cold air” is really just a measure of how much heat you have removed.

Your air conditioner uses a blower to pull in the heated air from inside your home. There is a fan inside the AC unit that blows that hot air over a coil filled with cold, refrigerant liquids. The heat from the blowing air transfers into the coil, prompting the refrigerant liquids to turn into gasses.

Those gasses create the cool air that is blown out of the AC unit and into your home. The AC then needs to turn those gasses back into a liquid so the process can repeat itself. The gasses are compressed and revert back to their liquid state.

The heat created when the gasses in the AC are compressed is then blown outdoors by another fan. The liquids can be heated once again by the warm air sucked in from your home, and the process just keeps repeating itself until your house is resting at a comfortable temperature.

We think it’s a pretty cool thing! Liquids becoming gasses, then back into liquids, all within the air conditioning unit in your home. The science behind air conditioning may seem very complex, but it’s not that hard to wrap your mind around. Besides, we think understanding the basics is enough to call yourself a responsible homeowner!

If you’re having trouble with your AC, no need to stress about it! You can either troubleshoot the issues and save a few bucks by fixing the problem yourself, or you can call in a technician and get the problem solved as efficiently as possible.

Check out our long list of blogs with helpful information on how to diagnose issues with your AC and fix them. If you would rather have us come out to make the repair, feel free to give Arco Home Services a call at any time!

At a low cost to you, we will be happy to send a technician out to take a look at the problem. It is always our goal to keep you comfortable in your own home!

“Question mark sign” by Colin Kinner is licensed under CC BY 2.0

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