Air conditioning

Air conditioning is the process of altering the properties of air (primarily temperature and humidity) to more favorable conditions. More generally, air conditioning can refer to any form of technological cooling, [1] heating, ventilation, ordisinfection that modifies the condition of air. An air conditioner (often referred to as air con, AC or A/C, and not to be confused with the abbreviation for alternating current) is a major or home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to change the air temperature and humidity within an area (used for cooling and sometimes heating depending on the air properties at a given time). The cooling is typically done using a simple refrigeration cycle, but sometimes evaporation is used, commonly for comfort cooling in buildings and motor vehicles. In construction, a complete system of heating, ventilation and air conditioning is referred to as "HVAC".

Refrigerants
"Freon" is a trade name for a family of haloalkane refrigerants manufactured by DuPont and other companies. These refrigerants were commonly used due to their superior stability and safety properties. [19] However, these chlorine-bearing refrigerants reach the upper atmosphere when they escape. Once the refrigerant reaches the stratosphere, UV radiation from the Sun cleaves the chlorine-carbon bond, yielding a chlorine radical. These chlorine atoms catalyze the breakdown of ozone into diatomic oxygen, depleting the ozone layer that shields the Earth's surface from strong UV radiation. Each chlorine radical remains active as a catalyst unless it binds with another chlorine radical, forming a stable molecule and breaking the chain reaction. The use of CFC as a refrigerant was once common, being used in the refrigerants R-11 and R-12. In most countries the manufacture and use of CFCs has been banned or [20] severely restricted due to concerns about ozone depletion. In light of these environmental concerns, beginning on November 14, 1994, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has restricted the sale, possession and use of refrigerant to only licensed technicians, per Rules 608 and 609 of the EPA rules [21] and regulations; failure to comply may result in criminal and civil sanctions. Newer and more environmentally safe refrigerants such as HCFCs (R-22, used in most homes today) and HFCs (R-134a, used in most cars) have replaced most CFC use. HCFCs, in turn, are being phased out under the Montreal Protocol and replaced by hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) such as R-410A, which lack chlorine. Carbon dioxide (R-744) is being rapidly adopted as a refrigerant in Europe and Japan. R-744 is an effective refrigerant with a global warming potential of 1. It must use higher compression to produce an equivalent cooling effect.

Types
Window and through-wall
Room air conditioners come in two forms: unitary and packaged terminal PTAC systems. Unitary systems, the common one room air conditioners, sit in a window or wall opening, with interior controls. Interior air is cooled as a fan blows it over the evaporator. On the exterior the air is heated as a second fan blows it over the condenser. In this process, heat is drawn from the room and discharged to the

environment. A large house or building may have several such units, permitting each room to be cooled separately. PTAC systems are also known as wall split air conditioning systems or ductless systems. These PTAC systems which are frequently used in hotels have two separate units (terminal packages), the evaporative unit on the interior and the condensing unit on the exterior, with tubing passing through the wall and connecting them. This minimizes the interior system footprint and allows each room to be adjusted independently. PTAC systems may be adapted to provide heating in cold weather, either directly by using an electric strip, gas or other heater, or by reversing the refrigerant flow to heat the interior and draw heat from the exterior air, converting the air conditioner into a heat pump. While room air conditioning provides maximum flexibility, when used to cool many rooms at a time it is generally more expensive than central air conditioning. The first practical through the wall air conditioning unit was invented by engineers at Chrysler Motors and offered for sale starting in 1935.
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Evaporative coolers
Main article: Evaporative cooler In very dry climates, evaporative coolers, sometimes referred to as swamp coolers or desert coolers, are popular for improving coolness during hot weather. An evaporative cooler is a device that draws outside air through a wet pad, such as a large sponge soaked with water. The sensible heat of the incoming air, as measured by a dry bulb thermometer, is reduced. The total heat (sensible heat plus latent heat) of the entering air is unchanged. Some of the sensible heat of the entering air is converted to latent heat by the evaporation of water in the wet cooler pads. If the entering air is dry enough, the results can be quite cooling; evaporative coolers tend to feel as if they are not working during times of high humidity, when there is not much dry air with which the coolers can work to make the air as cool as possible for dwelling occupants. Unlike air conditioners, evaporative coolers rely on the outside air to be channeled through cooler pads that cool the air before it reaches the inside of a house through its air duct system; this cooled outside air must be allowed to push the warmer air within the house out through an exhaust opening such as an open door or window. These coolers cost less and are mechanically simple to understand and maintain. An early type of cooler, using ice for a further effect, was patented by John Gorrie of Apalachicola, Florida in 1842. He used the device to cool the patients in his malaria hospital.

Portable units
A portable air conditioner is one on wheels that can be easily transported inside a home or office. They are currently available with capacities of about 5,00060,000 BTU/h (1,80018,000 W output) and with and without electric-resistance heaters. Portable air conditioners are either evaporative or refrigerative. Portable refrigerative air conditioners come in two forms, split and hose. These compressor-based refrigerant systems are air-cooled, meaning they use air to exchange heat, in the same way as a car or typical household air conditioner does. Such a system dehumidifies the air as it cools it. It collects water

condensed from the cooled air and produces hot air which must be vented outside the cooled area; doing so transfers heat from the air in the cooled area to the outside air. A portable split system has an indoor unit on wheels connected to an outdoor unit via flexible pipes, similar to a permanently fixed installed unit. Hose systems, which can be monoblock or air-to-air, are vented to the outside via air ducts. The monoblock type collects the water in a bucket or tray and stops when full. The air-to-air type reevaporates the water and discharges it through the ducted hose and can run continuously. A single-duct unit uses air from within the room to cool its condenser, and then vents it outside. This air is replaced by hot air from outside or other rooms, thus reducing the unit's effectiveness. Modern units might have a coefficient of performance (COP, sometimes called "efficiency") of approximately 3 (i.e., 1 kW of electricity will produce 3 kW of cooling). A dual-duct unit draws air to cool its condenser from outside instead of from inside the room, and thus is more effective than most single-duct units. Evaporative air coolers, sometimes called "swamp coolers", do not have a compressor or condenser. Liquid water is evaporated on the cooling fins, releasing the vapour into the cooled area. Evaporating water absorbs a significant amount of heat, thelatent heat of vaporisation, cooling the air: humans and animals use the same mechanism to cool themselves by sweating. They have the advantage of needing no hoses to vent heat outside the cooled area, making them truly portable; and they are very cheap to install and use less energy than refrigerative air conditioners. Disadvantages are that unless ambient humidity is low (as in a dry climate) cooling is limited and the cooled air is very humid and can feel clammy. Also, they use a lot of water, which is often at a premium in the dry climates where they work best. A typical single hosed portable air conditioner can cool a room that is 475 sq ft (44.1 m ) or smaller and has at most a cooling power of 15,000 BTUs/h (4.3 kW). However, single hosed units cool a room less effectively than dual hosed as the air expelled from the room through the single hose creates negative pressure inside the room. Because of this, air (potentially warm air) from neighboring rooms is pulled into [25] the room with the cooling unit to compensate.
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Heat pumps
"Heat pump" is a term for a type of air conditioner in which the refrigeration cycle can be reversed, producing heating instead of cooling in the indoor environment. They are also commonly referred to, and marketed as, a "reverse cycle air conditioner". Using an air conditioner in this way to produce heat is significantly more energy efficient than electric resistance heating. Some homeowners elect to have a heat pump system installed, which is simply a central air conditioner with heat pump functionality (the refrigeration cycle can be reversed in cold weather). When the heat pump is in heating mode, the indoor evaporator coil switches roles and becomes the condenser coil, producing heat. The outdoor condenser unit also switches roles to serve as the evaporator, and discharges cold air (colder than the ambient outdoor air). Heat pumps are more popular in milder winter climates where the temperature is frequently in the range of 4055F (413C), because heat pumps become inefficient in more extreme cold. This is due to the problem of ice forming on the outdoor unit's heat exchanger coil, which blocks air flow over the coil. To compensate for this, the heat pump system must temporarily switch back into the regular air conditioning

mode to switch the outdoor evaporator coil back to being the condenser coil, so that it can heat up and defrost. A heat pump system will therefore have a form of electric resistance heating in the indoor air path that is activated only in this mode in order to compensate for the temporary indoor air cooling, which would otherwise be uncomfortable in the winter. The icing problem becomes much more severe with lower outdoor temperatures, so heat pumps are commonly installed in tandem with a more conventional form of heating, such as a natural gas or oilfurnace, which is used instead of the heat pump during harsher winter temperatures. In this case, the heat pump is used efficiently during the milder temperatures, and the system is switched to the conventional heat source when the outdoor temperature is lower. Absorption heat pumps are actually a kind of air-source heat pump, but they do not depend on electricity to power them. Instead, gas, solar power, or heated water is used as a main power source. Additionally, refrigerant is not used at all in the process.An absorption pump absorbs ammonia into water. Next, the water and ammonia mixture is depressurized to induce boiling, and the ammonia is boiled off, resulting in cooling. Some more expensive window air conditioning units have a true heat pump function. However, a window unit that has a "heat" selection is not necessarily a heat pump because some units use only electric resistance heat when heating is desired. A unit that has true heat pump functionality will be indicated its specifications by the term "heat pump".

Uses
Air-conditioning engineers broadly divide air-conditioning applications into what they call comfort and process applications. Comfort applications aim to provide a building indoor environment that remains relatively constant despite changes in external weather conditions or in internal heat loads. Air conditioning makes deep plan buildings feasible, for otherwise they would have to be built narrower or with light wells so that inner spaces received sufficient outdoor air via natural ventilation. Air conditioning also allows buildings to be taller, sincewind speed increases significantly with altitude making natural . ventilation impractical for very tall buildings Comfort applications are quite different for various building types and may be categorized as: Low-rise residential buildings, including single family houses, duplexes, and small apartment buildings High-rise residential buildings, such as tall dormitories and apartment blocks Commercial buildings, which are built for commerce, including offices, malls, shopping centers, restaurants, etc. Institutional buildings, which includes government buildings, hospitals, schools, etc. Industrial spaces where thermal comfort of workers is desired. Sports stadiums: recently, stadiums have been built with air conditioning, such as the University of [27] Phoenix Stadium and in Qatar for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The structural impact of an air conditioning unit will depend on the type and size of the unit.

In addition to buildings, air conditioning can be used for many types of transportation, including motorcars, buses and other land vehicles, trains, ships, aircraft, and spacecraft. Process applications aim to provide a suitable environment for a process being carried out, regardless of internal heat and humidity loads and external weather conditions. It is the needs of the process that determine conditions, not human preference. Process applications include these: Hospital operating theatres, in which air is filtered to high levels to reduce infection risk and the humidity controlled to limit patient dehydration. Although temperatures are often in the comfort range, some specialist procedures, such as open heart surgery, require low temperatures (about 18 C, 64 F) and others, such as neonatal, relatively high temperatures (about 28 C, 82 F). Cleanrooms for the production of integrated circuits, pharmaceuticals, and the like, in which very high levels of air cleanliness and control of temperature and humidity are required for the success of the process. Facilities for breeding laboratory animals. Since many animals normally reproduce only in spring, holding them in rooms in which conditions mirror those of spring all year can cause them to reproduce year-round. Environmental control of data centers Textile manufacturing Physical testing facilities Plants and farm growing areas Nuclear power facilities Chemical and biological laboratories Mining Industrial environments Food cooking and processing areas

In both comfort and process applications, the objective may be to not only control temperature, but also humidity, air quality, and air movement from space to space.