Air conditioning is a household necessity for many people in the United States and most places around the world. These systems help maintain the temperature at the right level through subsequent heating and cooling, allowing indoor temperatures to remain at the right level regardless of outdoor conditions.
But how exactly does an air conditioner work?
the general operating mechanism of a typical air conditioning system; Key components of heating and cooling settings.
How does it work?
All environmental control devices, including heating and cooling systems, have three basic components: the mechanism that produces hot or cold air, the means of distribution, and the control system that regulates the system.
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Here’s how each system works:
1. Heating
The most important part of the heating system is the heat generator. This can take the form of a furnace, electric radiant heating, or a boiler.system Works on the principle of convection This shows that heat always moves from a warm medium to a cold medium.
In this regard, the heating system takes cold air from outside and passes it through the heating element. As the air passes through the heating element, it is warmed and then pumped into the ventilation system, where it is circulated throughout the house.
2. Cooling
A cooling system is very similar to a heating system, with one important difference. Instead of using heat generators, we mainly utilize coolers. in the form of an evaporator coil. The evaporator coil normally contains liquid coolant inside. When the air conditioning system takes in warm air from outside, it passes through the evaporator coils. Here heat is lost to the evaporator coil, causing cooling. Cool air is sent into the house.
3. Synergy
Heating and cooling systems work through the synergy of heating and cooling elements to create the desired room temperature conditions. These systems typically have a central controller with a thermostat used to set a specific desired temperature.
Depending on the room temperature, the thermostat will activate or deactivate one of the systems. For example, if the temperature is too hot, the thermostat will activate the heating system and vice versa.
4. Delivery system
If left unchecked, heated or cooled air does not significantly change the indoor temperature of your home. therefore, The heating and cooling system depends on the distribution system to enhance effectiveness.
There are three types of distribution systems:
- Forced Air System: A forced air system distributes the air through an electric fan and then pushes it through a series of metal ducts to different rooms in the house.
- Gravity System: Gravity system works on the principle that warm air rises and cold air sinks. As for heating, gravity systems are usually installed at a lower level than where warm air is needed. So the warm air rises through the ducts and flows into registers high in the floor or walls of the structure, depending on the location of the furnace.
- Radiant Systems: Radiant systems work by directly heating the floor, walls, or ceiling and heating the air. Therefore, it is mainly used for heating, since the mode of operation does not support cooling.
Conclusion
All heating and cooling systems work on the same principle. That is, it heats or cools the surrounding air and distributes it throughout the structure. All this follows the principle of conduction and convection that heat always moves from a warm medium to a cold medium.
Therefore, by changing the temperature of the medium and pumping air into the distribution system, the heating and cooling system can effectively control the indoor temperature of the house.
