How Your Air Conditioner Works to Keep Your Home Cool and Comfortable

If you’re like most homeowners in Miramar, Florida, you rely on your air conditioner to keep your home cool and comfortable. An air conditioning system is actually a much more complicated piece of machinery than many people realize, which is why learning a bit more about how your air conditioner works is a good idea. Here is some information about how your air conditioner works to keep your home comfortable and some issues that can interfere with AC performance.

Components of an Air Conditioner or Heat Pump

Before we get into how your air conditioner cools your home, it’s important to take a look at a few of the different components of an AC system. If you have a central air conditioning system, or heat pump, which is common, your system includes a variety of parts, all of which are important to the cooling process.

First, your system contains an outdoor unit that houses several parts, including a fan, compressor, condenser coil, and other electrical components. Inside of your home, there is an evaporator coil, and then there are refrigerant lines that connect the coil to the outdoor unit. Air ducts allow cool air to circulate through your home, and lastly, the thermostat lets you set your desired temperature.

How an Air Conditioner Works

Now that you know a little about the parts of your air conditioner, it’s time to learn how your system works. Contrary to what most people believe, your air conditioner doesn’t actually create cool air. Instead, it uses something known as the refrigeration cycle to remove heat from the air inside your home and transfer this heat outside of your house.

Your cooling system functions by moving refrigerant between the compressor and evaporator coils. First, a motorized fan pulls the warm air inside of your ductwork so that it can be cooled.

Next, the refrigerant in your system moves from the outdoor compressor coil into the evaporator coil. Then, the refrigerant in the evaporator coil absorbs the heat from the air inside of your home. Once the air has been cooled, it is released into your ductwork and transferred around your home to lower the temperature inside of your house.

Although the air in your home is now cooler, something still has to be done with the heat energy that has been absorbed by your evaporator coil. The last step of the refrigeration cycle happens when the refrigerant in your evaporator coil moves back to the compressor coil, and the heat energy is released outside your home.

The process of moving refrigerant into and out of your home happens continuously to maintain your preferred temperature. Through the refrigeration cycle, your air conditioner is able to effectively keep your house cool so you and your family can stay comfortable.

Issues that Affect AC Performance

In addition to understanding how your air conditioner works, it’s also important to know a few of the issues that can interfere with AC performance. A variety of issues can disrupt the refrigeration cycle, limiting your air conditioner’s ability to keep your home cool.

Having too much or too little refrigerant in your system is one issue that can impact air conditioner performance. Your AC system depends on having a set amount of refrigerant, and having the incorrect amount can severely limit cooling efficiency.

Leaks in your air ducts can have an influence on air conditioner performance. If there are leaks in your ducts, it will be difficult for your system to pull in warm air for cooling and to circulate cooled air throughout your house.

Lastly, if there’s an issue with either your compressor or evaporator coil, your system will have trouble successfully completing the refrigeration cycle. For instance, if dirt and debris accumulate on either coil, they may not be able to function the way that they should.

Understanding how your air conditioner works will make it easier to tell when there’s a problem with your system. If your air conditioner isn’t working as it should, you can get help by calling HI-VAC Air Conditioning Service at 954-246-4141. We’ll inspect your system, find the problem, and fix it quickly so that your home stays cool and comfortable.

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