Air conditioners

Air Conditioners

An air conditioner is a system or a machine that treats air in a defined, usually enclosed area via a refrigeration cycle in which warm air is removed and replaced with cooler air. In construction, a complete system of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning is referred to as HVAC.

History

The concept of air conditioning is known to have been applied in Ancient Rome, where aqueduct water was circulated through the walls of certain houses to cool them. Modern air conditioning emerged from advances in chemistry during the 19th century, and the first large-scale electrical air conditioning was invented and used in 1902 by American inventor Willis Carrier.

Types of Air Conditioners

There are various types of air conditioners like window air conditioner, split air conditioner, packaged air conditioner and central air conditioning system.

Window Air Conditioner

Window air conditioner is the most commonly used air conditioner for single rooms. In this air conditioner all the components, namely the compressor, condenser, expansion valve or coil, evaporator and cooling coil are enclosed in a single box.

Split Air Conditioner

The split air conditioner comprises of two parts: the outdoor unit and the indoor unit. The outdoor unit, fitted outside the room, houses components like the compressor, condenser and expansion valve. The indoor unit comprises the evaporator or cooling coil and the cooling fan.

Packaged Air Conditioner

For larger rooms and space the packaged air conditioner is used. There are two possible arrangements with the package unit. In the first one, all the components, namely the compressor, condenser (which can be air cooled or water cooled), expansion valve and evaporator are housed in a single box.

Central Air Conditioning System

Central air conditioning is used for cooling big buildings, houses, offices, entire hotels, gyms, movie theaters, factories etc. If the whole building is to be air conditioned, HVAC engineers find that putting individual units in each of the rooms is very expensive making this a better option.

See Also

• HVAC
• Refrigeration
• Heating system

References

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