Air
Conditioner
Lower Your Air Conditioner Costs
By understanding the designs, components, and operating principles of your air conditioner, together
with proper sizing, selection, installation, and maintenance, you will have a cost-effective
operation and lower overall air conditioner costs including energy bill.
How Air Conditioner Works
Air conditioner employs the same operating principles and basic components as your home
refrigerator.
An air conditioner cools your home with a cold indoor coil called the evaporator. The condenser,
a hot outdoor coil, releases the collected heat outside. The evaporator and condenser coils are
serpentine tubing surrounded by aluminum fins. This tubing is usually made of copper.
A pump, called the compressor, moves a heat transfer fluid (or refrigerant) between the
evaporator and the condenser. The pump forces the refrigerant through the circuit of tubing and
fins in the coils.
The liquid refrigerant evaporates in the indoor evaporator coil, pulling heat
out of indoor air and thereby cooling the home. The hot refrigerant gas is pumped outdoors into
the condenser where it reverts back to a liquid giving up its heat to the air flowing over the
condenser's metal tubing and fins.
Maintaining Your Existing Air Conditioner
Older air conditioner may still be able to offer years of relatively efficient use. However,
making your older air conditioner last requires you to perform proper operation and maintenance.
One of the most common air conditionering problems is improper operation. If your air
conditioner is on, be sure to close your home's windows and outside doors. Also check for common
air conditioner failure:
- Refrigerant leaks.
- Change air filters.
- Electric control failure.
Change your air conditioner filter regularly will help prolong the life of the air conditioner.
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