Air-conditioning is a wonderful modern feature in the house. This section is going to be reviewing the components of the appliances that create a comfortable living space.
It would be almost impossible for an individual homeowner to be able to fully diagnose or recharge their system and that is not the intent of this information.
It is important to understand the basic concept of air conditioning. This appliance is not designed to be a refrigeration unit to reach a certain temperature. We must keep the milk cold in the refrigerator to a certain temperature regardless of how hot or cold it is outside. It is not supposed to freeze up like a block of ice or get too warm and sour.
What can mislead people to thinking is simply raising their hand up nearest ceiling register and saying, “Yes, I feel cool air.” On a hot day a simple fan will feel cooler because of the air movement causing evaporation over our skin. An air conditioner is supposed to change the temperature. This is called the temperature differential and that is the difference between the air in the house going into the machine and the chilled air coming out of the machine from the registers in every room. Most manufacturers design a system to have a temperature differential, a drop in temperature of 15 up to 25° of the air flow. When it is 100° outside, a 10° drop will not feel very comfortable. 15° or more begins to feel very good on a hot summer day. This is why it is important to measure the temperature instead of simply feeling air movement.
The subject topics will discuss the compressor/condenser, electrical disconnect, the refrigeration lines, the thermostat, the air handler (often called the FAU standing for ‘Forced Air Unit’), the condensate lines and also window/wall A/C units.
A/C Compressor
For air conditioning, there are three main components. Some parts look larger than others and some may be next to...
A/C Evaporator coil
What is the Evaporator Coil? One more part to the air conditioning system. The term “air handler” is describing a...
Condensate lines
The air conditioner will create moisture at the cooling coil from the natural humidity in the air. That is what...
Refrigeration Lines
The refrigeration line set is a set of copper lines between the air handler evaporator coil and the air conditioning...
Thermostat – A/C
A good bit of “Thermostat” information was covered in the adjacent “Heating” section of this web site that pertains to...
Window-Wall A/C Unit
Everyone is familiar with the semi-portable window and wall unit air conditioners. These appliances have made a lot of people...