When everything is running nicely, you may not realize there are several components inside the plain box that make your air conditioner run smoothly. When you dig a little further, however, you’ll discover a linked maze of air conditioner components.
What Are The Most Important Air Conditioner Components?
There are four parts of HVAC. The evaporator, condenser, compressor, and expansion valve are the four components. Each of these air conditioner components works in tandem with the others and serves a specific purpose: to keep your air conditioner functioning smoothly. Learn more about HVAC split system work.
1. Evaporator Coil
The evaporator coil is positioned in the indoor unit of a mini-split air conditioner. While this indoor unit is present in the air handler of a central system. Just before accessing the evaporator coils, the refrigerant that is flowing through the system is cooled to a low temperature. Warm air is taken into your HVAC unit and fanned over cool evaporator coils, which extract the heat and cool the air down. The cool air is then blown back inside by fans situated behind the evaporator coil, lowering your home’s temperature.
Companies manufacture these coils out of copper, but they can also use steel or aluminum. Copper is the material of choice because it has a higher heat conductivity, is easier to work with, and has a longer lifespan.
Keep your coils clean, though, since dirt and dust can accumulate over time and diminish their performance. The accumulation of this dust can potentially clog the condensation drain, causing refrigerant leakage. While the air filter protects it, regular cleaning will help maintain your evaporator coils in top shape.
2. Compressor
The compressor is the workhorse of air conditioning and is perhaps the most crucial of all air conditioner components. You need to house a compressor in the outside unit for both central and split systems. The compressor consumes the majority of the energy used by an air conditioner, and it is also the most expensive portion of the system.
The compressor’s job is to compress the refrigerant, which was a warm vapor when it arrived at the compressor, into a hot compressed liquid. After that, the compressor cools the refrigerant and expands it again as the air conditioning operation continues to remove heat from the inside air.
By regularly checking for refrigerant leaks, preventing dirt and contamination, keeping the condenser coils clean, and keeping your AC properly lubricated, you can keep the most critical AC component healthy.
3. Condenser Coil
The condenser coil, which is the polar opposite of the evaporator, extracts heat from the refrigerant and discharges it into the atmosphere.
You can find it in your AC’s outdoor unit. With a fan moving heat away from it, the evaporator coil practically functions in reverse to the condenser. You might feel hot air flowing out of the outside unit of your AC if you stand outside it. This is the heat that the compressor emits by the condenser during the process of converting a hot vapor to a hot liquid refrigerant.
4. The Expansion Valve
The Expansion Valve is a device that allows you to expand your space.
The refrigerant will no longer be able to absorb heat because it is now a liquid. After encountering a drop in pressure, the refrigerant expands into a gas. The compressor cools down this refrigerant in the expansion valve. The cooled gaseous refrigerant is then injected into the evaporator coils to complete the air conditioning cycle.
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What Is The Connection Between Air Conditioner Components?
Now that you’ve learned about the basic components of air conditioners, it’s time to learn how they all operate together.
Let’s begin with the chilling procedure. In the compressor, it compresses and transforms refrigerant into a heated, high-pressure liquid. This liquid moves toward the condenser coils. A big fan present there cools it. The expansion valve then converts the refrigerant into a cold, low-pressure gas by rapidly expanding it.
This cool gas lowers the temperature of your room. This whole process uses evaporator coils. When the coils become cold, the interior unit’s fan pushes warm inside air over them, lowering the temperature.
What Are The Other Parts Of An AC Unit?
The above-mentioned AC unit components are the most important, however, there are more.
1. A Filter For The Air
An air filter keeps dirt and dust, as well as other airborne particles out of the AC. An air filter works like a screen mesh. It’s in the indoor storage unit.
2. Refrigerant
You’ve probably heard the term “refrigerant” a lot lately, and you’re probably wondering what it means. The material is the one that does the cooling. Refrigerant flows within an network of copper or steel tubes of HVAC. Moreover, it has qualities that allow it to be compressed and extended to cool or heat a space.
R-410A and R-22 are two common refrigerants, the latter of which is gradually becoming outdated.
3. Fan
HVAC then uses a fan to transfer air from one component to another. A fan also distributes conditioned air throughout your home. Fans are also necessary for keeping your outside unit from overheating by dissipating heat.
4. Thermostat
The thermostat is in charge of keeping your home at the temperature you want it to be. This is where you tell your AC what temperature you desire, and it turns on or off the AC accordingly to maintain the ideal indoor temperature. It can simply read the temperature of your room because it has temperature and humidity sensors built-in.
You can regulate your AC temperature from your phone and set clever commands like scheduling or geofencing with programmable or smart thermostats. You can utilize a smart AC controller, which functions similarly to a thermostat for central systems if you have a ducted AC such as a mini-split or window unit.
Conclusion:
You should be able to better grasp the workings of your AC now that you’ve learned more about AC components. Furthermore, you are now in a better position to identify any potential faults with your AC. You may also determine when you need to tune up your equipment.
