Air conditioners

Central air conditioners rely on ductwork to bring cool air through your entire home. They have an indoor unit and an outdoor unit, connected by a set of tubes, that work together to take the heat and humidity out of your home and place it outside, in order to decrease the temperature. Central air conditioners are great for homes with a basement or attic, because the indoor unit can be tucked away unseen.

Packaged air conditioners are central air conditioners, the only difference is that the entire system is placed outside the home. They still cool your home using ductwork, but just don’t feature a 1:1 split. Packaged air conditioners work well for homes that don’t have unused space to store a large indoor HVAC unit.

Dual fuel hybrid systems are able to both heat and cool your entire home. They’re made up of a heat pup and a gas furnace, and each unit works only when it’s optimal. That means, the heat pump will handle all of the cooling in the spring and summer, plus some of the heating when the temperature outside is chilly but not freezing. As soon as the outdoor climate becomes cold, the gas furnace kicks on to heat your home. If you live in a place that experiences all four seasons, a dual fuel system might be right for you.

Ductless mini-splits feature a 1:1 indoor to outdoor unit ratio. Ductless mini-splits are ideal for people who need to cool just one room (like a sunroom, home office, home addition and more) or for supplemental cooling where there might be hot or cold spots in your home. The most common type of mini-split will be mounted on your wall, but there are many different options available.

Ductless multi-splits are the same as ductless mini-splits, except they have additional units, allowing you to cool multiple rooms or spaces in your home. Each unit creates its own zone, which means you can set a unique temperature in each. Because of this, multi-splits can be a great option for whole-home temperature solutions, or for multi-family housing. ASA mult-splits use inverter technology to vary the system’s capcity to precisely match each zone’s preset comfort requirements, increase energy efficiency, and maintain temperature.

Window air conditioners cool one room in your home and are situated, unsurprisingly, in a window. Typically, window air conditioners are half inside and half outside, like a central air conditioner, but operate similarly to a ductless system in that they can only cool the room in which they’re located. Unfortunately, window units can be noisy and visually unappealing, but on the bright side, they are inexpensive.

The thermostat is the boss of the rest of your HVAC system. When you lower the temperature on your thermostat, it signals to the air conditioner that it’s time to begin cooling. There are two types of thermostats you might find in your home: electronic and electromechanical. Electronic thermostats are more modern and have sensor technology. Electromechanical thermostats are older and contain metal strips and mercury to read the temperature cues.

Refrigerant is the lifeblood of the air conditioner. It runs through the entire system, absorbing, carrying, and releasing heat at various points in the cooling cycle. Without refrigerant to transport heat, your home would never be able to cool down. When the cooling process begins, the refrigerant’s first stop is in the evaporator coil to absorb heat from the air in your home.

Evaporator coils are made of a metal that conducts heat very well, like copper or steel, and are located in the indoor unit. The evaporator coil is the only place refrigerant is able to totally absorb heat and humidity from your home, before it continues on through the rest of the cooling cycle.

The compressor receives cool & low pressure refrigerant from the evaporator coil and compresses this to a high pressure / high temperature condition. This high temperature refrigerant flows to the condenser coil to cool and dissipate heat.

The condensor coil is responsible for releasing the heat the refrigerant is carrying outside. Once the heat is released from the refrigerant, it cools down in the condensor coil to get ready to absorb more heat from your home.

The refrigerant leaving the condenser coil will reach an expansion valve just before entering the evaporator coil. The expansion valve restricts the refrigerant flow which causes a reduction in pressure and temperature. The cooler refrigerant flows out of the valve and into the evaporator coil.