Vintage Design Doesn’t Include Vintage Air Conditioning
While you love the vintage details of your home’s architecture, that doesn’t mean you should settle for older, less efficient air conditioning. Installing or updating your air conditioner now is an advantage when the Texas temperatures soar and humidity thickens the air. Having a basic understanding of how air conditioning works is important for proper maintenance.
How Air Conditioners Work
Air conditioners of any size work in essentially the same way — by using electricity to move heat from the inside of the home to the warmer outside environment. They function in a manner similar to a home refrigerator that keeps your food cool by pushing heat from the interior of the unit to the exterior.
Air Conditioner Components
There are several main components of air conditioning systems that work together to lower the temperature in your home. The evaporator is the indoor coil that cools your home, while the condenser, or outdoor coil, releases collected heat to the outdoors. The compressor pump moves refrigerant between the condenser and evaporator
Both the condenser and evaporator coils are tubes, usually made of copper, that coil in a serpentine shape and have aluminum fins surrounding them. The pump moves refrigerant through the coils and fins where it evaporators in the indoor coil. The heater refrigerant then pumps outdoors by the compressor, turns back into liquid, and releases its heat outside.
Evolution of Refrigerants
In the past, air conditioners used chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) as refrigerant, but upon learning that those chemicals damaged the ozone layer, the refrigerant changed to halogenated chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs). Even though most systems use HCFCs now, that refrigerant is being phased out and will eventually be replaced by ozone-safe hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).
Learn more about the air conditioner options at Wood Air Conditioning & Plumbing or give us a call at 903-285-6550 to schedule an appointment with one of our HVAC professionals.