HOW AC SYSTEMS FUNCTION

A cool home in the heat of summer is a welcome escape. Have you ever wondered how an air conditioning system works? AC systems run off either gas or electricity and all function on the same basic principles. A furnace is required to distribute cooled air throughout your home via a natural gas air conditioner, while electric air conditioning systems utilize an air handler for distribution.

The system’s condenser is the AC unit you find outside your home. Inside this condenser sits a compressor, condenser coil and large fan. Cool refrigerant is pumped to an evaporator coil which is found either in the building’s furnace or air handler, depending on whether it runs off gas or electricity. The furnace or air handler blower pushes warm air past the cold condenser coil to cool it. This cool air is then distributed throughout the structure via air ducts.

The evaporator coil absorbs heat and warms the coolant as it moves through. This warm refrigerant is pumped back outside to the condenser to be cooled by the large fan, and the heat escapes into the outdoor air. The cycle continues until the indoor air temperature reaches that set on the thermostat.