What's Going On In There?

Winnetka air conditioning information.

There are so many different style air conditioners out there. You probably have many different options for your space. You should always consider price, size and cooling capacity. But how do these magical cooling boxes work? They seem to just make everything better! That cool air on a hot day feels great. When they break, of course they cause greif. But we don't often wonder what is actually going on in that magical box. Your Winnetka air conditioning specialist is here to give you a little insight on whats actually going on.

A common AC unit is the window air conditioner:

We turn the air conditioner on when we are hot. It seems like it just pumps cool air into our homes and that is how the overall temperature gets lower. That's not all that is going on inside your AC. Where do you think that cool air comes from? It's not something we generally take time to think about but your Winnetka air conditioning company, American Air Conditioning just wanted you to know. What's really happening is the warm air from your house is being removed and cycled back in as cooler air. This process just happens over and over again until the entire temperature of the space reaches the desired temp set on your thermostat.

What it comes down too is, an air conditioner is really the exact same thing as a refrigerator. Instead of pumping the air into a small confined space (insulated box) it is pumping the air into a large are (living room. Bedroom etc.) It uses the evaporation of a refrigerant, like Freon, to provide cooling. The mechanics of the Freon evaporation cycle are the same in a refrigerator as in an air conditioner. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online, the term Freon is generically "used for any of various nonflammable fluorocarbons used as refrigerants and as propellants for aerosols."

This is how the evaporation cycle in an air conditioner works:

1. The compressor compresses cool Freon gas, causing it to become hot, high-pressure Freon gas (red in the diagram above).
2. This hot gas runs through a set of coils so it can dissipate its heat, and it condenses into a liquid.
3. The Freon liquid runs through an expansion valve, and in the process it evaporates to become cold, low-pressure Freon gas (light blue in the diagram above).
4. This cold gas runs through a set of coils that allow the gas to absorb heat and cool down the air inside the building.
Mixed in with the Freon is a small amount of lightweight oil. This oil lubricates the compressor.

Air conditioners help clean your home's air as well. Most indoor units have filters that catch dust, pollen, mold spores and other allergens as well as smoke and everyday dirt found in the air. Most air conditioners also function as dehumidifiers. They take excess water from the air and use it to help cool the unit before getting rid of the water through a hose to the outside. Other units use the condensed moisture to improve efficiency by routing the cooled water back into the system to be reused. This is the general concept involved in air conditioning. (Source)