Cooling technology is in a way a modern marvel. Air conditioners can safely store food, preserve substances and keep you comfortable during the hottest months of the year. It involves a complex scientific process using chemicals called refrigerants. Various refrigerants have different qualities, and chemists are constantly working to make them safer and more efficient.
Like any chemical, refrigerants need to be regulated to promote safety and the environment. Some refrigerants are subject to phase-out regulations, while others are emerging as alternatives. Understanding how these chemicals work and the best options are critical.
Refrigerants are a unique man-made compound. There are dozens of different refrigerants, each with slightly varying compositions. Most have only a specific combination of three or four different elements. Over the years, chemists have tweaked refrigerants to make them safer and more environmentally friendly.
Any artificial cooling technology requires AC refrigerant. One of these chemicals is required in every home air conditioning unit, industrial freezer, and vehicle cooling system. Simply put, the refrigerant absorbs heat from the surrounding environment to provide cooling for refrigeration or air conditioning. In your air conditioner, the refrigerant is inside the coils.
How does refrigerant work?
Refrigerants play a vital role in any cooling system cycle. They change from gaseous to liquid and back throughout the cooling process. Air conditioners include compressors, condensers, and evaporators - areas where refrigerant travels through, changing from gas to liquid, and back again. Below is a brief description of what happens in each air conditioning package.
1. In the compressor
The refrigerant starts in the compression chamber of the air conditioner and absorbs heat from the home. The refrigerant starts out as a low-pressure gas in the compression chamber. The compression chamber pushes the molecules together, heating them and increasing the pressure. This transition from low pressure to high pressure moves the refrigerant molecules through the rest of the cycle.
2. In the condenser
Then, the hot pressurized gas enters the condenser. This part faces the exterior of your home. Some fans remove the accumulated heat from the body. If you stand next to the outdoor part of the air conditioner, you can feel it pushing out hot air - this is the heat it takes away from your home!
As the fan cools the gas, the molecules condense back into a liquid state. Once enough heat has been removed, the liquid begins to flow to the next area. As the heated refrigerant passes through the system, a metering device measures how much cooling is required to reach the set temperature. If it detects a high residual heat level, it will continue.
3. In the evaporator
The final stage of the cycle is the evaporator. The refrigerant acts as a low-pressure liquid in the evaporator to cool the house. A fan blows through pipes containing refrigerant. The chemical then undergoes an endothermic reaction, which means it absorbs the surrounding heat and evaporates back into a gas.
Due to this heat absorption, the ambient temperature drops. At this point, fans blow cool air into the house for maximum cooling. The refrigerant, now a low-pressure gas again, restarts the cycle in the compressor.
The refrigerant continues this cycle until the house reaches the desired temperature. The meter then shuts down the system until the temperature returns. As complicated as it sounds, this cooling process is quick and effective. If you've felt the relief of walking into an air-conditioned space on a hot, humid day, you know how big a temperature difference the process can create.
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