How Air Con Works

Air conditioning systems consist of several main items:

 

  • Condenser
  • Receiver
  • Dryer
  • Compressor
  • Expansion valve
  • Evaporator

 

Compressor

The compressor is the heart of an air conditioning system. It takes refrigerant as a low pressure gas, pumps it up to a high pressure gas, and circulates it into the discharge hose. Compressors are much like little engines. Most of them have pistons, piston rings, a crank shaft, and bearings, just like a car engine. They need to have oil circulated through them to lubricate all the moving parts. This oil is mixed into and carried with the refrigerant. That is why running an air conditioner without any refrigerant is like running your cars engine without any oil. We have parts to fit all makes and models.

Car Air Conditioning

The first modern air conditioning system was designed to solve a humidity problem at the Sackett-Wilhelms Lithographing and Publishing Company in Brooklyn, N.Y. Paper at the company would absorb moisture from the warm summer air, this made it difficult to apply the layered inking techniques which they used to use. It was decided that instead of treating the building they would treat the air by blowing it across chilled pipes. The air cooled as it passed across the cold pipes, and since cool air can’t carry as much moisture as warm air, the system significantly reduced the humidity in the building and stabilised the moisture content of the paper.

The process air conditioners use to reduce the air temperature in a room is based on a very simple scientific principle. The rest of the process is achieved by applying a few clever mechanical techniques. Actually, a car air con machine is very similar to another appliance in your home — the fridge.