The ABCs of Home Air Conditioning: This Is How It WorksThe Los Angeles cooling season is long and hot, and your air conditioner works hard to keep your home comfortable. If you don’t know much about how it does the job, taking the time to understand the basics of your home air conditioning system can help you troubleshoot common problems and communicate effectively with your HVAC professional in the event you need service this summer.

The refrigerant in your air conditioner is a chemical that changes easily from gas to liquid and is the vehicle that transports heat energy from your home’s air to the outdoors. In doing so, it cycles continuously through the three major components of your system.

The evaporator 
Your indoor unit is home to the evaporator coil. Refrigerant enters this coil as a cold liquid. Air from your home is sent over the coil by the air handler, and the refrigerant absorbs the heat from the air. The refrigerant heats up and begins to boil, changing into a cool gas. The humidity in the air condenses on the coil and drips into the condensate pan beneath it.

The compressor
The cool gas flows into the condenser in the outdoor unit. The compressor squeezes the refrigerant and heats it up to above the outdoor temperature.

The condenser
The resulting hot gas flows into the condenser, also in the outdoor unit. A fan blows warm outdoor air over the condenser coil. Since heat moves from a cooler place to a warmer place, the warm air passing over the hot coil causes the heat energy to flow from the refrigerant to the outdoor air. As the heat dissipates, the refrigerant cools and turns back into a liquid. It’s sent back to the evaporator to start the cycle over again.

Annual preventive maintenance is essential for maintaining efficient heat exchange to keep you comfortable, lower your energy costs and extend the life of your system.

For more expert advice about how your home air conditioning system works, please feel free to contact us at Around the Clock Heating and Air Conditioning, Inc., proudly serving the Los Angeles area since 1967.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Los Angeles, North Hollywood and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about home air conditioning and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock