What Are the Main Parts of Your Heating Air Conditioning Unit?

It might be worth investing in a replacement unit when your home’s HVAC is a bit old and in need of repair. A residential HVAC professional can help you select the right solution for your needs.

Gas-powered air conditioners, also referred to as propane air conditioners use natural gas for heating and running condensers.

Evaporator

An evaporator coil is the part of your air conditioner that cools your home. The evaporator coil can be found in a container that is attached to or inside your gas furnace (if you have one) or in an air handler, in the absence of. The evaporator is where the refrigerant liquid is transformed into gas and absorbs heat from the home’s indoor air.

The evaporator is made up of a few copper coils that are tightly packed together. The refrigerant enters the coils at low pressure, which makes it easier for it to transfer heat when it evaporates into gaseous state.

A fan blows warm air through the coil of the evaporator. This air is cooled when heat is removed from the evaporator. This lowers the temperature of your indoor air. The cooled air is then moved through your home’s ductwork to every room and circulates until it is returned to the air conditioning system through return ducts.

Contrary to the compressor, which needs to make the refrigerant gas at high temperatures for efficient cooling, the evaporator only has to bring its boiling point to a lower temperature to ensure that it is cooling effectively. The evaporator also uses its own fans to help in achieving this objective.

The evaporator metering system ensures that the liquid refrigerant remains at an unchanging level. The low-side float is designed to be open when there’s no liquid in the evaporator, and it closes when it detects liquid entering the coils.

There are two kinds of evaporators: cases and uncased. A cased evaporator will be the one you’ll likely to see in your home since it’s contained within the metal casing of your air conditioning unit. Uncased evaporators are similar to cases, but they do not have an outer shell that is protected.

Both evaporators have the same purpose but it is important to choose one that is able to meet your home’s specific needs. For instance, certain models are more suited to more harsh working environments, whereas others are better suited to more moderate conditions. Think about how easy it is to clean and maintain your evaporator. This can help you save time, money and effort.

Condenser

The condenser is among the three primary parts of the air conditioning system in your home that helps keep it operating efficiently. It is situated outside of the home, and is connected to the evaporator’s coil by refrigerant lines and contains several metal fins and fans that remove heat from the refrigerant gas that has been transported from the evaporator. The heat that is emitted allows the refrigerant to cool down and transform back to liquid form.

A compressor is attached to the condenser unit and is used to pressurize the low-pressure liquid refrigerant that was transferred from the evaporator. The compressor’s squeezing action increases the temperature, which is passed into the condenser to absorb latent heat in the air. When the cooling process is completed the refrigerant is moved into the compressor, where it will be pressurized before being pumped back to the evaporator coil.

Since the condenser is outdoors, it is vulnerable to the elements. Debris such as twigs, leaves, grass clippings and roofing shingles too can get into the condenser unit, causing damage to it. A universal HVAC condenser can shield your heating and cooling equipment from damage while not in use.

Avoid shading the condenser. This can impede air flow and force the compressor to work harder to cool your home. This could result in increased energy costs and potential loss of refrigerant.

Regular maintenance will ensure that your HVAC system is running correctly. Regularly having a professional technician examine every major component of your HVAC system can assist in avoiding major problems. In addition, having an expert service team examine your refrigerant levels frequently can help avoid any issues from arising. By following these steps, you can help to prolong the lifespan of your heating and cooling system and lower the cost of energy.

Compressor

A compressor is the center of your air conditioning unit and it circulates refrigerant throughout the system to keep it cool. It’s similar to the blood in your body, pumping coolant between the evaporator coils and condenser. If something is wrong with the compressor, it will stop the evaporator and condenser from doing their job and leave your home uncomfortably warm.

There are several different kinds of HVAC compressors and each has its own advantages and disadvantages. A reciprocating compressor, for example it has a piston that moves upwards and downwards in a cylinder. This motion creates a suction that draws in the refrigerant. As the piston moves down it decreases the volume of gas, and then a discharge valve opens to expels the pressurized refrigerant into the condenser coil.

This type of compressor comes with a clutch and crankshaft, which assists the piston to compress the air. A rotary compressor comes with blades that are within the cylinder, which help compress the air. This kind of compressor is quiet, which makes it an ideal option for residential use.

Both kinds of HVAC compressors are designed to increase the temperature of the liquid refrigerant while it is compressed, ensuring that the vapor that leaves the compressor is high-temperature and high pressure. Since heat naturally flows from higher-temperature substances to lower-temperature ones the hot vapor will move into the evaporator coils and return to its liquid state.

You can prevent most AC issues by staying on top with your maintenance schedule. This will ensure that your equipment will last for a long time and provide peace of mind that your home will remain comfortable. Griffith Energy Services can help you decide on the best repair option if you are experiencing a problem with your compressor.

Thermostat

The thermostat is the brains of your heating and cooling system, allowing it to decide the time and frequency at which it is turned on and off. It measures the temperature of the air and compares it with a preset desired level. If it is off by a few degrees the thermostat will send an electronic signal that changes it to bring it closer to the desired temperature. Most modern thermostats use a digital sensor called a thermistor to gauge the temperature. The thermistor consists of two different metals that expand at different rates when they warm up and bend in opposite directions. When the thermistor reaches the temperature set it sends a signal to the circuit board that heating or AC should be turned on.

The touchscreens on the newer models make it simple to program and operate. They are usually programmed to automatically heat or cool your house at specific times, which eliminates the effort of manually setting it every day. In addition, they provide reports on energy consumption to help you figure out how to reduce expenses.

If you have an older electromechanical model, it’s somewhat more complicated. It is composed of a bimetallic band which is bonded with mercury to the vial. If the temperature changes and the mercury inside a vial tilts, completing or rupturing an electrical circuit. When the vial tilts the thermostat, it turns on the cooling and heating system.

You must regularly clean your thermostat to remove dust. Also, make sure that it isn’t bent or loose. In some cases, the thermostat may be having trouble in its readings due to an unclean evaporator coil or a damaged thermistor. In this situation, you’ll need to get an expert to fix the problem. If the issue is something else, like a blank screen or a blank screen, you can try replacing the batteries or checking that the breaker hasn’t been tripped. This is an example of how your HVAC system can be more efficient if you make the effort to understand it and make the most of its use.