As long as an AC works reliably on a hot summer day, that’s often all most people care to know about the subject. If it doesn’t work, conversely, the function of the air-conditioning process suddenly becomes a high priority in the house.

At its most basic, an AC works primarily as a heat mover. Here are the basic stages of how an AC works to get the job done.

Extracting the Heat

Warm air inside the house is pulled through return ductwork to the indoor air handler, where it passes through the AC evaporator coil. This coil circulates frigid refrigerant — a chemical with unique properties to convert from a vapor to a hot liquid and then back again. Heat present in the return airflow is absorbed by the refrigerant, thus cooling the air. In addition, the cold evaporator coil causes indoor humidity to condense into liquid, drying the air for more efficient, more effective cooling. The cooled, dried airflow then circulates back to all rooms in the house through supply ductwork.

Compressing the Flow

Meanwhile, the warm refrigerant flow passes through a conduit to the outdoor AC unit, typically located behind the house or on one side. Entering the outdoor unit, refrigerant is run through a powerful, 240-volt compressor, concentrating heat molecules and converting the refrigerant to a superheated gas that’s typically more than 200 degrees.

Releasing the Heat

Hot pressurized refrigerant leaving the compressor enters the outdoor condenser coil and decompresses. The refrigerant instantly converts into a liquid state, releasing its load of heat energy, which is dispersed into outdoor air by the condenser coil fan.

Coming Back for More

Refrigerant begins the return trip to the indoor evaporator coil. Along the way, it’s forced through a small orifice in an expansion valve. The rapid depressurization that occurs causes the refrigerant to convert back to a frigid, vaporous state as it enters the evaporator coil, ready to extract more heat from the indoor airflow.

For all your home or business HVAC needs, contact the cooling professionals at Jackson & Sons.