HVAC coolant is the substance circulating through your air-conditioning system that keeps your home comfortable during the long, hot summer. Technically known as refrigerant, HVAC coolant is a remarkable substance that has properties that allow it to convert from a frigid vapor to a hot liquid and then back again.
An air conditioner doesn’t actually add coolness to your home, per se. Instead, it removes heat. What’s left behind when heat energy is extracted from indoor air is a comfortable home environment. However, the process of moving heat out of the house in the summer is far more complex than a furnace keeping the house warm during winter. Here’s a basic primer on how the air-conditioning cycle keeps your home cool when it’s hot outside.
- Refrigerant in a frigid, vaporous state flows through the indoor evaporator coil as warm indoor air is pulled through coil passages by the system blower. The cold surfaces of the evaporator coil efficiently extract heat energy from the airflow. Chilled air is then circulated back into HVAC supply ducts to cool every room in the house.
- Now at low pressure, the warmed refrigerant gas flows through the AC line to the powerful 220-volt compressor that’s located in the central air conditioner’s outdoor unit. The compressor pressurizes the refrigerant flow to concentrate heat molecules and raise the temperature of the gas.
- Propelled by the compressor, the flow of hot pressurized gas now enters the outdoor condenser coil. The refrigerant rapidly decompresses and releases its load of compressed heat that’s been extracted from the home. The coil radiates this heat, and the coil fan disperses the released heat into outdoor air.
- As the refrigerant/HVAC coolant flows back to the indoor evaporator coil, it passes through an expansion valve that rapidly converts the liquid flow back to a frigid vapor. Vaporous refrigerant circulates into the evaporator coil again and absorbs more heat as the circular cooling cycle continues.
Contact the professionals at Jackson & Sons for all you home and business cooling needs this summer.
