In other words, is outside air brought into the air conditioner, cooled, and then blown into your house, or is it air that's already in the house, and cooled from that?
I ask because, if it is the second option, it wouldn't seem that you could get any fresh air that way.
Thank you in advance for your help.
2007-01-28 15:58:29 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Other - Science
With central air systems, the air is recycled over and over again, following the same route as air that the furnace heats. Window units also use the air that is already in the house, but most have a "vent" you can open to blow in outside air.
As far as the "fresh air" problem, most houses are no where near air tight. Air leaks in and out all the time. While this is one way that the energy to heat or cool the air goes to waste, there are benificial side effects. In fact the ultra air tight new homes can be dangerous if your furnace or other gas burning appliance starts to leak carbon monoxide.
2007-01-28 16:26:41 · answer #1 · answered by luck d 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Modern houses are designed to provide adequate ventilation, it's in the building code, and many airconditioners have a variable fresh/recirculate option. The latter is better on very hot days(because it doesn't need to cool down hot air from outside as much), unless there are a lot of people present, in which case fresh air is advisable. Try to get by with fans until it gets too hot, it's cheaper and better for the environment and electricity grid, as is getting the new, low energy, ducted evaporative airconditioners, which are not so good for humid, tropical climates, but suit most of us just fine!
2007-01-28 16:16:55 · answer #2 · answered by CLICKHEREx 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The default setting is to circulate the air in your house. Since the air being cooled is drawn from inside the house, you don't have to bring the temp. of that air down as much as you would if it was drawn from outside air.
That way your power consumption in much lower. All A/c have a option to draw outside air. But the A/c would consume maybe double or more power. The choice is yours.
2007-01-28 16:12:04 · answer #3 · answered by Starguru 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
there are standards for air exchanges in buildings. engineers calculate the number of occupants and the quality of air required by code and then design a system based on that. a percentage of the air that is in the house or building can be recirculated, but there does need to be a percentage of fresh air as well. hospitals require more than say, an office building.
2007-01-28 16:06:39 · answer #4 · answered by zmonte 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Central air uses air from inside the house via the cold air return duct. This "recycled" air is then run thru your furnace filter. Window a/c units also use recycled air unless the fresh air vent is opened. I do not recommend opening the fresh air vent when trying to cool the inside air. Opening the vent will make the unit work harder at trying to cool the air. The fresh air vent is for fan only use.
2016-03-29 07:26:32 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most central A/C units recirculate the air inside the house. Same as heating systems which use forced air. Most homes have enough air leakage to replenish fresh air.
2007-01-28 16:12:36 · answer #6 · answered by scott p 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most just recirculate house air. It is already cooler and needs less power to maintain temperature than cooling down outside air.
2007-01-28 16:04:31 · answer #7 · answered by ZORCH 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
most aircon recirculates the house air 4 fast cooling,if u want some fresh air coming in u can just open a bit of ur window often.
2007-01-28 18:13:51 · answer #8 · answered by robert KS LEE. 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Internal air circulation, to use outside air would demand too much energy and cost to you.
2007-01-28 16:09:11 · answer #9 · answered by Steiner 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋