Ever wonder how Qatar managed to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022 while being located in a sweltering desert? It has been among the most amazing things to observe. The only thing that made that historic event possible was air conditioning. Air conditioning may sound like a modern technology to you, but it was being applied all around the world centuries before. In this article, we are going to learn about the science behind air conditioners.
Air conditioning, abbreviated as A/C, is the process of cooling a space by moving hot air to achieve a more relaxing indoor temperature. This technique has been employed for several centuries. It might not have been the electric cooling system as we know of today. It was more of an architectural way of cooling the indoor space.
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History of Air Conditioning
Let us look at the developmental history of air conditioning in brief.
- The concept of cooling cities was first put up by Florida physician and inventor Dr. John Gorrie in the 1840s in an effort to combat rising temperatures.
- Being a physician, Dr. Gorrie believed that cooling was the best way to prevent the disease like malaria and comfort the patient.
- However, his basic concept of cooling involved ice, which needed to be shipped from northern parts of the country.
- He patented a system that produced ice using a compressor powered by a horse, water, wind-driven sails, or steam in 1851. Although, it wasn’t commercialize this technology laid the foundation for the modern A/C.
- The idea of artificial cooling remained dead for several years until engineer Willis Carrier took on a project that resulted in the development of the first modern electrical air conditioning unit.
- In 1902, while working for the Buffalo Forge Company, Carrier was assigned with addressing a humidity issue at Brooklyn’s Sackett-Wilhelm’s Lithographing and Publishing Company.
- Through a series of tests, Carrier came up with a way to control humidity using cooling coils. He then got a patent for his “Apparatus for Treating Air,” which could either add moisture to the air by heating water or remove moisture from the air by cooling water.
How Does Air Conditioner Work?
Air conditioners use refrigeration for cooling the interior air, by making use of a physical law: when a liquid turns to a gas (a process known as phase conversion), it absorbs heat. Air conditioners take advantage of phase conversion by enabling specific chemical compounds to evaporate and condense continuously in a closed system of coils.
A standard air conditioning system uses a specialized chemical called refrigerant and consists of three mechanical components: a compressor, a condenser coil, and an evaporator coil. These components work together to rapidly convert the refrigerant from gas to liquid and back.
Let us take a brief look at how these components work.
(1) Refrigerant
The refrigerant is the operating fluid of an air conditioners. It removes heat from indoor air in the summer and heats it in the winter. R-22 and R-410A are two major refrigerants utilized in the manufacturing sector today. This type of refrigerant improves operating efficiency while also lowering greenhouse gas emissions. The Montreal Protocol required the replacement of an older class of refrigerants known as CFCs and HCFCs, which were environmentally hazardous.
(2) Evaporator Coil
The evaporator coil is an indoor unit that collects heat from the surrounding air and cools it. The heated air inside your home is taken in through a vent and directed over the cold evaporator coil. A fan directs the cold air into air ducts, which spread it throughout your home.
(3) Compressor
The compressor reduces the gas’s volume. Typically, this is accomplished by compressing the gas tightly between two solid objects. This increases the pressure and temperature of the refrigerant, prepping it for the condensing process.
(4) Condenser Coil
The refrigerant, becoming a superheated vapor, enters the condenser (which is set up outside) and gets exposed to the air outside. The outside air absorbs heat from the refrigerant, lowering its temperature and converting it from a gas to a liquid.
Air Conditioner Operating Mechanism
As we have already learned about the chemical and mechanical components involved in the air condition, here we will take a step involved at the operational mechanism of air conditioner.
- Step 1: As your interior gets hot and filled with the warm air, the first step involves the drawing a hot air into the cooling system.
- Step 2: Once the hot air is drawn into the system it flows through the cool evaporator coils, which cools down the air while a dehumidifier removes excess moisture.
- Step 3: Meanwhile, the refrigerant flowing through the chiller pipes absorb the heat form the air flowing past and evaporates, transforming from a cool liquid to a warm gas.
- Step 4: And this warm air is pumped outside while refrigerant flows through a compressor unit and a condenser, which turn it back into a cool liquid.
- Step 5: Cold air is then re-circulated into the room where it mixes with the existing air and reduces the temperature and humidity.
This process continues until your home reached a desired temperature.
Also Don’t Forget to Read
Video Reference
Other References
- https://www.carrier.com/residential/en/us/products/air-conditioners/how-do-air-conditioners-work/
- https://www.coolray.com/help-guides/how-does-an-air-conditioner-work
- https://www.boxt.co.uk/air-conditioning/guides/how-air-conditioning-works
- https://howardair.com/blog/how-does-air-conditioning-work/
- https://home.howstuffworks.com/ac1.htm
