Air Conditioning Process: Refrigeration Cycle, Humidity, Evaporation And Refigerant

Not many people are familiar with how the air conditioning process works, and do not really care. As long as it keeps them cool when the weather is hot, they could care less what the air conditioning process is. This is too bad, because the air conditioning process is actually quite interesting and there is never any harm in learning something new.

The air conditioning process works through what is called refrigeration cycle. A refrigeration cycle begins with a gas called Freon which is cool until it reaches a compressor which heats up the gas. Once the gas is hot, it is released through a set of coils which condenses the gas into a liquid by dissipating the heat. In the next step of the refrigeration cycle, the liquid Freon moves through an expansion valve where it then evaporates. The evaporation transforms the Freon into a low-pressure, cold gas form of Freon.
The final stage of the refrigeration cycle takes place when the cold Freon passes through an additional set of coils which absorbs heat and cools the air in a given area where the air conditioner is running. The refrigeration cycle used in the air conditioning process is similar to that in a refrigerator, minus the insulated box.

The most important part of the air conditioning process starts and ends with the refrigerant. The refrigerant is what makes the air conditioning process what it is in the first place. Refrigerant is commonly referred to as Freon, which is a generic term for any various nonflammable fluorocarbons. When formed into a gas, the refrigerant moves throughout the air conditioner with the aide of a compressor. One the refrigerant passes through the second set of coils, which is called the condenser coil, the heat is removed and it once again becomes a liquid. This is why the air coming out of the back end of an air conditioning unit is so hot; the condenser is releasing the heat from the and only allowing cool air to travel out through the air conditioner and into the building. To put it in simpler terms, the air conditioning process does not create cool air; it just takes the heat out of it.

To make the most out of an air conditioner, one needs to understand humidity as it pertains to the air conditioning process. Humidity comes from water vapors in the air mixed with warm temperatures. While cooling the air is a big part of the air conditioning process, reducing the humidity in the air is equally as important. Controlling the air conditioning process requires being able to control the humidity level as well as the temperature. To reduce humidity, the air needs to be cooled, and then sometimes the air needs to be heated to get the temperature back to a desirable level. This is only for close-controlled air conditioning, which is an expensive and energy wasting process. Fortunately, very few types of the air conditioning process use close-control.

It is the natural act of evaporation that makes the air conditioning process successful. Evaporation of a liquid not only transforms it to a gas; it removes the heat from the gas at the same time. So the hot air blowing outside of the air conditioner is basically just evaporation at work, removing the heat from the air inside the air conditioner.

The air conditioning process is one of the things many people take for granted, as long as it works, they do not care how it does. However, understanding the air conditioning process makes it easier to identify a problem if an air conditioner is not working properly. After all, if the air conditioning process is not functioning properly, it is not something that will just fix itself.


Sources:
"PRS Refrigeration." 2004. PRS Refrigeration, Inc. 10 Aug. 2007. http://www.prsrefrigeration.com/aircon/aircon.php? PHPSESSID=c3eff459c10596b7a1942c815c875a69.

Brain, Marshall. "How Air Conditioners Work." HowStuffWorks, Inc. 10 Aug. 2007. http://home.howstuffworks.com/ac1.htm.

"Cooling Systems." Aire Serv. 10 Aug. 2007. http://www.aireserv.com/expert/cooling.aspx.