CENTRAL AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM

Definition of AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM

- the process of removing heat and moisture from the interior of an

occupied space, to improve the comfort of occupants.

Types of Air Conditioning System

1. Portable Air Conditioning System

 Consists of a mobile self-contained air

conditioning unit that is placed on the floor
inside a room and discharges exhaust heat
using a hose vent through an exterior wall.
 A bit noisier.

2. Room Air Conditioning System

 Noisier. Physical appearance that is

unattractive. Lower efficiency and poor
constant temperature.
 Inexpensive and easy to install.
 Also known as window or wall units.

3. Ductless Air Conditioning System

 Also known as mini split system.

 Perfect where there is no overhead attic or
crawl space.
 Consists of indoor AHU, outdoor
condensing unit and remote controller

4. Central Air Conditioning System

 A method of structural cooling in which a

centralized
unit cools
and
dehumidifies
air before
circulating it
throughout
the building.
With central air, the main unit is often located outdoors or in an isolated area
of a building because a great deal of noise is generated during the
refrigeration cycles that cool the air and help to extract humidity. The unit
connects to ductwork that runs throughout the building, with blowers pushing
cold air out of the ducts to cool down rooms. The air conditioner also vents to
the outdoors to get rid of excess heat and moisture.
1. Split System
The two parts of a split system are:
Indoor unit – A metal cabinet that contains the evaporator coil. This
is installed inside your home, usually in a utility closet or the attic. It’s
usually the same cabinet that houses your furnace. If your home
doesn’t have a furnace, the evaporator coil works as part of an air
handler.
Outdoor unit – A metal cabinet that contains the condenser,
compressor and expansion valve. This is located outside your home,
usually on a concrete slab.
These two units are connected by refrigerant lines that run
underground and conduct refrigerant back and forth between the units.
 2. Packaged System
Two types of condensers are used in packaged systems:
Air-cooled – These condensers are cooled by the surrounding air.
These are more common for residential use.
Water-cooled – These condensers require a cooling tower, so they’re
used primarily for large commercial applications where water is
plentiful.
Fresh air is sucked in from condenser fan and moves through
condenser coils in which it loses heat and is then pushed into the vents
through blower.

COMPONENTS

Air Handling Unit. Suck air from the rooms and let it pass through air filters then
discharging the cooled air back to the rooms.

Air filter. Trap any pollen, pet dancer, dust or other particles from being recirculated..

Blower fan. Moves the warm indoor air over the chilled evaporator apparatus as the
exterior exhaust fan moves hot air away from the heated condenser coils.

Lineset. Copper lines the run between outdoor and indoor portions of the unit. Used
to transport either liquid and gas refrigerant from one component to the next in cycle.
Condenser. Responsible for releasing the heat that refrigerant has absorbed from
the atmosphere.

Condenser Coils. Network of tubes filled with refrigerant the removes heat from the
heated gas refrigerant and convert the refrigerant into a liquid form again.

Compressor. Helps the condenser by increasing the refrigerant’s pressure enough

for the condenser to change the high pressure vapor into liquid.

Thermostat. Monitors the temperature in your home and either sustains from or sets
the cooling process in motion

Evaporator. Cooler,liquid refrigerant enters the evaporator from the condenser (via
lineset) and is met with lower pressure.

Evaporator Coils. Network of tubes filled with refrigerant the removes heat and
moisture from the air as the refrigerant evaporates into a gas again

Expansion valve. Assists the evaporator. Serve to lessen the pressure of the liquid
refrigerant so that it can turn back into a gas inside of the evaporator.

How does a Central Air Conditioning System works?

First, the air-handling unit kicks on, drawing room air in from various parts of the
house through return-air ducts. This air is pulled through one or more filter, where
airborne particles such as dust and lint are removed. Then the air is routed to air-
supply ductwork through which the blower pushes it back to the rooms.
With a typical “split system,” the condenser and the compressor are located in an
outdoor unit. The evaporator is mounted on or in the air handling unit, which is often
a forced-air furnace. With a “package system,” all of the components are combined
in a single outdoor unit that may be located on the ground or on the roof.

Refrigerant circulates through copper tubing that runs between the evaporator and
the condenser. This refrigerant receives and releases heat as it raises and lowers in
temperature, changing from liquid to gas and then back to liquid. The refrigerant is
especially cold when it begins to circulate through the indoor coil.

As the air handler pushes warm air across the coil, the refrigerant absorbs so much
heat from the air that it turns into vapor. As a vapor, it travels to the outdoor
compressor, which pressurizes it and moves it through the outdoor coil. There it
jettisons the heat through coils or thin metal “fins.” A fan in the compressor also
helps to dissipate the heat. The refrigerant then passes through an expansion device
that converts it to a low-pressure, low-temperature liquid, which returns to the indoor
coil.

And so the cycle goes.

Summary

Most people think that an air conditioner functions by pumping cool air into their
home but air conditioner actually removes warm air and recirculates it as cool air. An
air conditioner is basically a refrigerator. It uses the evaporation of a refrigerant, like
Freon, to provide cooling. An central air conditioning system includes both the
cooling and heating of air and cleans the air as well as controls the moisture level.

 The first component of your air conditioning system is temperature control.

When the air temperature rises above a preset level on your thermostat, the
thermostat sends a signal to the air conditioner. This signals the air conditioner
that it is time to turn on.
 The compressor (which is controlled by the thermostat) is the "heart" of the
system. The compressor acts as the pump, causing the refrigerant to flow
through the system. Its job is to draw in a low pressure, low temperature,
refrigerant in a gaseous state and by compressing this gas, raise the pressure
and temperature of the refrigerant. This high pressure, high temperature gas
then flows to the condenser coil.
 The condenser coil is a series of piping with a fan that draws outside air across
the coil. As the refrigerant passes through the condenser coil and the cooler
outside air passes across the coil, the air absorbs heat from the refrigerant,
which causes the refrigerant to condense from a gas to a liquid state. The
high-pressure, high-temperature liquid then reaches the expansion valve.
 The expansion valve is the "brain" of the system. By sensing the temperature
of the evaporator, or cooling coil, it allows liquid to pass through a very small
opening, which causes the refrigerant to expand to a low-pressure, low-
temperature gas. This "cold" refrigerant flows to the evaporator.
 The evaporator coil is a series of piping connected to a furnace or air handler
that blows indoor air across it, causing the coil to absorb heat from the air. The
cooled air is then delivered to the house through ducting. The refrigerant then
flows back to the compressor where the cycle starts over again.
Most central air conditioning units operate by means of a split system. That is, they
consist of a "hot" side, or the condensing unit—including the condensing coil, the
compressor and the fan—which is situated outside your home, and a "cold" side that
is located inside your home. The cold side consists of an expansion valve and a cold
coil, and it is usually part of your furnace or some type of air handler. The furnace
blows air through an evaporator coil, which cools the air. Then this cool air is routed
throughout your home by means of a series of air ducts.

Heat pumps and geothermal systems are other options for cooling your home. The
basic principle of removing warm air and replacing it with cool air applies to these
systems as well.

So those are the basics of your cooling system, the thermostat for control, the central
air conditioning unit to remove warm air in order to create cool air, and a duct
system to move the air through your home. And that how your central air
conditioning system keeps you cool!