Help, I have central air and would like to know how the unit works...if you know where i would find out?

Question

how does it take outside air and turn it into cold / hot air?

Answer 1

How an air conditioner works:
A little chemistry, a little physics, and a whole bunch of tubes and wires. Here are the basics of staying cool: An air conditioner makes your home cooler, true. But in terms of how the system actually works, it's more accurate to say that an air conditioner makes your home less warm. What it is really doing is drawing heat energy from the inside of the house and transferring it outside.


1. A gas (the refrigerant) flows into the compressor, where high pressure turns the refrigerant into a liquid. The compressor pumps this chilly liquid through tubes to . . .
2. The evaporator coil. Here the cold, liquid refrigerant absorbs heat energy from the surrounding air and turns back into a gas. Also, humidity from warm indoor air condenses on the evaporator and drains away. Meanwhile . . .
3. A blower draws warm air from the house, moves it through the evaporator where heat energy is removed and blows this air on through the ductwork into your house -- cooler, dryer and altogether more pleasant. As for the heat energy removed from that air . . .
4. The once-gaseous, then liquid, now-once-again-gaseous refrigerant carries that heat energy back to the outdoor unit. Here the refrigerant passes through the condenser (sometimes called the condensing coil) where metal fins around the tubing transfer heat to the surrounding air, which is moved over the condenser by . . .
5. An exhaust fan. So you see, that air blowing out the top of your outdoor unit is so hot because it contains heat energy that was inside your house just a couple of minutes before. Whew!
So what about this heat pump thing?
Heat pump: the mysterious machine that heats and cools. It's really pretty simple. Just think of a heat pump as an air conditioner with a "Reverse" gear.
A heat pump does two jobs, but it uses the same principles for both. On warm days, it works exactly like a regular air conditioner. It extracts heat from inside your home and transfers it to the outdoors. On cold days, it does just the opposite, pumping heat energy from the outdoors into your home.


How can the machine pump heat out of cold air? Because the system's refrigerant evaporates at such low temperatures, drawing heat from the surrounding air. Strange as it may seem, even if it's freezing outside there's still enough heat energy in the chilly air for a heat pump to warm your home.
Of course, the colder the weather, the more difficult this becomes. So air handlers (the indoor part of a heat pump system) have supplemental electric heating that kicks in when the temperature is extremely low. This makes a Trane heat pump a more-than-adequate heating system for homes in all areas of the country. In the colder parts of the country, some heat pump owners prefer to have a gas furnace to run on the most frigid days.
How do these energy ratings work?
How much efficiency is enough? Depends on how fast you want your system to pay for itself. 12% SEER, 14% SEER, 80% AFUE, 90% AFUE - don't get too bamboozled by trying to figure out where all the numbers come from. All you really need to know is that these are relative measures of fuel economy -- SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating) numbers for air conditioners, or AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency) for gas furnaces. In simplest terms, the higher the number, the more heating or cooling you'll get for your energy dollar.
As you shop around, use the numbers, not vague terms like "high efficiency" or "super high efficiency," to really compare systems. Any air conditioner or furnace on the market today can be called "high efficiency" compared to the equipment of just a few years ago. What was called high efficiency then -- say 9 SEER for an air conditioner or 70% for a gas furnace -- wouldn't even be permitted on the market today!
Air conditioners
•10% SEER -- the minimum efficiency allowed by law for new central air conditioning systems
•11% or 12% SEER -- trade up to this level from your old system and you'll probably be delighted at how much lower your electric bills are
•14% SEER plus -- pushing the upper limits of what's possible with today's technology
Gas furnaces
•78% -- the legal minimum for new furnaces on the market today
•80% -- another once-impossible degree of efficiency that means drastically lower gas bills than you probably have with an old furnace
•90-plus % -- currently the highest efficiency you'll find (but we're working to change this)
The most intelligent thing you can do when you are looking to purchase a replacement unit is to educate yourself. By doing so, you will get the most out of your home comfort system.

Answer 2

Well, it doesn't take outside air and heat or cool it. It circulates the air INSIDE of your house. It vents the spent gases outside to avoid carbon dioxide poisoning your family.

The heater cycles this way:

The thermostat determines the temperature is lower than selected. It turns opens the gas valve (if it is a gas, natural or otherwise, heater) and turns on the heat exchanger.

The heat exchanger heats up to a certain temperature that can actually be set for better performance.

Once the heat exchanger is hot, the circulating fan turns on to circulate the inside air through the house via the return duct and vent ducts.

When the thermostat determines the temperature exceeds the set temperature, it turns off the gas valve turning off the fire.

The circulating fan continues to run until the heat exchanger has cooled sufficiently and to capture any heat you've paid for. The fan will shut off when the heat exchangers temperature reaches around 100 degrees.

If the circulating air continues to run till the temperature is below body temperature, the air will feel cold to people, so it shuts off early.

If the circulating fan turns off, then in a few seconds turns back on and runs a few seconds then turns off again. The temperature for the heat exchanger to turn off the circulating fan needs to be adjusted.

This is the basic operation of the heater.

The AC works similarly, but uses a compressor outside to pump freon to the inside. When you place a gas under pressure, it becomes a liquid and displaces heat. That is why you feel heat coming out the top of your outside AC unit.

The freon is pumped to a AC coil called the evaporator coil, though some people incorrectly call it the condenser coil because water condenses on it.

The liquid freon is sprayed into the evaporator coil where it expands and absorbs the heat from the air circulating through the house.

The gaseous freon is pumped back outside where it is once again compressed forcing the heat out of it and the process starts again.

Geeze, I should write a book. LOL

Good Luck

Answer 3

air conditioning works because when a liquid changes to a gas it absorbs heat the reason they use freon or on newer units refrigerant 12 is it has a low boiling point so it will transform from a liquid to a gas at about -20F the liquid freon passes through a metering valve into a evaporation coil where it changes from a liquid to a gas and absorbs heat in the process then it goes to a compressor where it is compressed back to a liquid and is considered in a super heated state then it goes to the condenser coils where air is forced over it to cool the liquid freon which then is taken to the metering valve where it all starts again. if a unit has two metering valves one by each coil that can be opened or closed electronically you can control which coil absorbs heat and which coil gives off heat. This should give you a general idea of how it works

Answer 4

You start the cooling cycle by taking a volatile gas and compressing it with a pump until it turns into a liquid. They used to use Freon - and I don't know what is used these days, but the idea is to use a gas that can easily be turned into a liquid when it is compressed. - When the gas is compressed, it gets hot, because its molecules are brought closer together. The compressed liquid is then pumped through a radiator, which is just thin metal with tubes for the liquid to go through - Air is blown over the radiator and directed outside your house and the liquid inside gets cooler. - The liquid is then allowed to expand back to a gas state - but inside closed tubing which is essentially another radiator. - When the liquid expands it gets colder, and because some heat was lost to the outside, it is colder than when you started. - Air is blown over the second radiator to the inside of your house. What you have essentially is a heat pump - Outside air is made hotter and your house gets colder.

Answer 5

Air conditioning works like a an auto motive hot water pump taking heat from your engine and putting it into your car to cool the car and heat you- only in reverse. Freon , or a freon like liquid takes heat from the air circulating thru your furnace or air handler then pumps that heat outside. The air does not go outside.
It takes heat for this liquid to change into a vapor , that heat is removed outside at your condenser ( changing the hot gas back to a liquid) to start the process all over again.

Answer 6

get rid of the unit. no matter if that is that previous it develop into equipped in a time even as performance develop into nowhere close to what that is immediately. a sparkling unit received't in common words artwork extra perfect, that is going to use a strategies a lot less electrical energy and would pay for itself thoroughly in only many years, plus you're in a position to get a rebate from the interior of reach electric powered software for setting up a sparkling intense-performance unit. The longer you wait the further money you'll lose. Have it replaced interior the wintry climate, even as A/C agencies are short on artwork and would provide a chit.

Answer 7

essentually,the a/c removes hot air from inside leaving cold air.the heater just blows hot air from hot metal inside your unit.

Answer 8

tha ayur condishiner pumps kold freeon in tha vints an dats how it gits kold man! Den da freeon travulz bak to da owtside unit an gits reused but i aint shur how it gits from in da rooms thru da howse wallz an bak into da owtside u nit so dat it kan be ree used? U kud axs my bud bubba or zek an day kin tellu x aktly how it wurx cuz dats watt day do fer a livun!

Answer 9

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