Air conditioning is the system we most depend on for indoor comfort in Las Vegas, NV, but how does it work? Through the cycle of refrigeration, your AC system keeps you cool by collecting the heat inside your home and releasing it outdoors. Three components play a major role in this remarkable feat of engineering.
The Evaporator
Anyone who has wiped their face with a damp towel in hot weather has a basic understanding of the cooling effects of evaporation. Your air conditioner’s evaporator operates much the same way. Instead of water, a liquid refrigerant gets fed into the component’s cooling coils through an expansion valve. The pressure drops inside the coils, causing the liquid to evaporate into a gas and pull heat from the air. A fan then blows the cooled air into the air distribution system.
The Compressor
Located in the outdoor unit, the compressor is the muscle behind your air conditioning system. It’s a hard-working pump that takes in the evaporated gas and compresses it. The molecules get packed closer and closer together, causing the temperature of the gas to rise. When the refrigerant leaves the compressor, it’s a pressurized gas filled with heat. High-efficiency systems feature multi-stage compressors that use less power when you need less cooling.
The Condenser
The condenser is where the heat in the gas gets released into the great outdoors. Like the indoor evaporator, the component uses a coil of serpentine tubing to do the work. The coils condense the hot gas into a liquid. The condenser uses a fan to push the hot air outside through a grill of metal fins. The refrigerant then heads back indoors to the evaporator as a liquid to start the cycle again.
As a Trane Comfort Specialist, Infinity Heating and Cooling offer quality AC systems for homes throughout the greater Las Vegas, NV region. For more information, explore our Air Conditioning section or call us today.
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