Air conditioners remove heat by circulating refrigerant that absorbs heat from indoor air and releases it outside.
Here's a breakdown of the process:
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Refrigerant Cycle: Air conditioners utilize a refrigerant, a special fluid that easily changes between liquid and gas states. This phase change is crucial for heat transfer.
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Evaporation: Inside the air conditioner's indoor unit is the evaporator coil. Here, the liquid refrigerant absorbs heat from the air blowing across it. As the refrigerant absorbs heat, it converts into a gas. As the liquid refrigerant inside the evaporator coil converts to gas, heat is absorbed from the indoor air into the refrigerant, thus cooling the air as it passes over the coil. The indoor unit's blower fan then pumps the chilled air back through the home's ductwork out into the various living areas.
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Compression: The gaseous refrigerant then travels to the compressor, located in the outdoor unit. The compressor increases the pressure and temperature of the refrigerant gas.
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Condensation: The high-pressure, high-temperature refrigerant gas flows to the condenser coil, also in the outdoor unit. Here, the refrigerant releases its heat to the outside air, causing it to condense back into a liquid. A fan helps dissipate this heat.
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Expansion: The liquid refrigerant then passes through an expansion valve, which reduces its pressure and temperature, preparing it to return to the evaporator and repeat the cycle.
Essentially, the air conditioner acts as a heat pump, transferring heat from inside your home to the outside environment. The refrigerant is the key component in this process, continuously cycling between liquid and gas phases to absorb and release heat.
