The temps are hitting record highs throughout the country and the majority of homes are using some kind of air conditioner to beat the summer heat. While we are all thankful that your air conditioner works, the experts at Temp Air System Inc. in La Puente want to give you a glimpse at just how an AC system works.

The Basics
There’s a plethora of science regarding keeping your home at a comfortable temperature. Your air conditioner functions in a comparable way to your refrigerator; however, your AC has a larger task to manage. Both your fridge and AC cool with a constant loop of refrigerant, in your air conditioner these refrigerant loops from inside to the external part of your home.

This refrigerant effortlessly changes from a liquid to gas and back to a liquid again. It flows into your house as a sub-cooled liquid and as it evaporates it absorbs heat from inside the home and expands back into vapor. This vapor then moves back to the unit located outdoors where the heat is freed and is then condensed back into a sub-cooled liquid.

Four Components
There are 4 main sections to your AC system: a compressor, an evaporator coil, the condensing coil, and an expansion valve. The evaporator coil is where your refrigerant evaporates from a sub-cooled liquid into a super-heated vapor. This component can be established in the home, in your garage, or even in your attic. Warm air moves across the cold evaporator coil and the heat is removed from the air. This cooled air is then sent throughout your indoor space.

Your compressor sits in your outdoor condensing unit. The super-heated vapor from your evaporator coil flows into the compressor which surges the pressure of the vapor until it is converted into hot, high-pressure vapor. The hot vapor then moves back into the condenser coil where less hot outdoor air runs across the coil, heat is moved outdoors, and the refrigerant is adapted back into a sub-cooled liquid. The sub-cooled liquid then goes back to the indoor evaporator coil through an expansion valve or metering device. This process is continually repeated.

That concludes your physics lesson for now…your air conditioner functions on a never-ending loop of science. We understand that it’s not a top priority to you how it works, but that you are staying cool. If you’d like to discuss staying cool and comfortable in La Puente, contact us. With the help of our team and science, we’re going to make it through this sweltering summer.

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Temp Air Heating & Cooling
Temp Air Heating & Cooling

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