For many homeowners, air conditioner parts and functions feel like a mystery. You know that big metal cabinet located outside cools your home, but you don’t know what’s inside it or how it does its job. In our most recent blog, Douglas Cooling & Heating explains the key components of an air conditioning system and how they work to create the cooling that keeps your home nice and comfortable.
How Does the Cooling Process Work?
Before we get into specific air conditioner parts and functions, let’s first walk through the steps of the cooling process. Below is how your air conditioning unit or heat pump cools your home.
- Warm air from the home flows into the cooling system.
- Heat from the air is absorbed, cooling the air.
- Cool air is sent back into the home while heat is moved outdoors.
- The system releases heat into the atmosphere, expelling it from your home.
Air Conditioner Parts and Functions to Know
With the basic gist of the cooling cycle down, let’s get into air conditioner parts and functions and discuss how they make that process possible.
- Ductwork is a part of the distribution system that carries warm air to central air conditioners and carries cooled air from air conditioners to the living areas.
- The air filter allows air to pass through from the ducts into the indoor unit and captures airborne pollutants in the process to keep them out of the cooling equipment.
- The indoor unit contains the evaporator coil as well as the blower equipment.
- Refrigerant is a substance that flows through the indoor and outdoor air conditioning equipment to absorb and transfer heat.
- The expansion valve regulates liquid refrigerant flow into the evaporator coil.
- The evaporator coil receives incoming cold, liquid refrigerant, and as air flows over the coil, the refrigerant held inside absorbs the excess heat to leave the air nice and cool.
- The blower motor and fan distribute air cooled from the evaporator coil, pushing it through supply ducts and out of vents to fill your living areas.
- The condensing unit is the outdoor portion of the air conditioning system that holds the compressor, condenser coil, and condenser fan.
- The compressor receives warm refrigerant gas flowing from the evaporator coils to the outdoor unit, placing it under pressure to convert it back to liquid form and increasing its temperature for heat transfer.
- The condenser coil receives refrigerant from the compressor, allowing the substance to release the heat it holds into the surrounding air as the refrigerant then cools back down.
- The condenser fan draws heat away from the condenser coils and out of the condensing unit.
- The thermostat is the control module that controls the operation of the air conditioning system from inside the home.
Contact Douglas Cooling & Heating for Air Conditioner Services in Birmingham, AL
All air conditioner parts and functions are important to the cooling process. When one isn’t functioning properly, system-wide performance suffers, which leaves homeowners displeased. If any air conditioner parts and functions aren’t working as they should, call Douglas Cooling & Heating for Birmingham air conditioner repair right away!
