How Your Home’s Air Conditioning Compressor Works
Air conditioners are amazing appliances! How do they work? One of the most important parts of making this process of air conditioning possible is the compressor. Prescott Air Conditioning discusses how your Prescott home’s air conditioning compressor works.
The three primary parts that are responsible for making your air conditioner function properly are:
- The evaporator
- The condenser
- The compressor
The compressor plays a key role in the cooling process because it is the interface between the evaporator inside your home and the condenser outside your home. Its job is to convert the low-pressure, gaseous refrigerant from the evaporator into a high-pressure, high-temperature gas. This all happens before it enters the condenser. Here is what happens:
- Refrigerant enters the compressor through the “suction line.”
- Inside the compressor, a piston moves forward and backward to draw refrigerant in and then squeezes it together with the gas.
- The molecules are compressed (hence the term compressor), and both the pressure and temperature of the refrigerant are raised.
- The refrigerant then is forced through the compressor through the “discharge line,” flowing into the condenser.
- Heat naturally flows from warmer to cooler substances, so the heat from the hot refrigerant is then transferred to the cooler outside air that is blown over the condenser coils.
- The refrigerant then cools down and turns back into a liquid.
- The refrigerant goes back inside to repeat the process.
You may not need to know how an air conditioning compressor works, but you can rest assured that Prescott Air Conditioning knows, and we are experienced in helping to keep your system running well. If the air conditioning unit in your Prescott home is experiencing problems, or if it is just due for an inspection, don’t wait to call us. Prescott Air Conditioning’s technicians are experts in repairs, replacement and installation of HVAC equipment. Give us a call at 928-308-1254 to schedule an appointment today.