Air Conditioning Basics

A building is never about the walls but the comfort of the occupants. You have to be able breathe in properly inside a particular space. Research has shown that customers are likely to flock into a well ventilated and air conditioned  restaurant as opposed to one without. It would not be possible to work hard to your full potential in a hot, humid and stuffed work spaces hence need for air conditioning. In addition, knowing one or two things about your air conditioning systems might mean keeping your machines working for a while before you get a specialist to have a look at your machine.

Outdoor Air Conditioning Units

Air conditioning was invented in the year 1902 by a 25 year old Engineer. This was the first ever modern air conditioning invention and was meant to take care of a production problem in the company he was working with.

How Do The Work?

The working principle of lifts is the same regardless of the shape or the size. They work by absorbing the hot air in a space and passing it through a liquid chemical known as a refrigerant. There is a very basic physic`s law you might have heard in your early years of schooling that when a liquid changes form to gas it absorbs heat.

The hot air absorbed is passed over low pressure evaporator coils containing the refrigerant, causing the refrigerant to turn into gas absorbing the heat in the process. Well, for it to continue cooling the refrigerant has to change form back to liquid state. This is achieved by compressing the gas at high pressure creating more heat. The heat is evacuated to the external space through another set of coils known as the condenser coils. This is process starts all over again hence ensuring your space is cooled efficiently ad continuously. 

Parts Of Air Conditioning System

Getting to know about your air conditioning system will not only enable you identify a problem when it occurs with your system and as well as preventing you from falling prey from as many fraudulent suppliers in the market. Below are the most critical parts of a air conditioning system:

(a) Evaporator

This works together with  a fan to receive the liquid refrigerant and turns it into gas under low pressure. 

(b) Condenser

This converts the evaporated gas back to liquid through a process known as  heat transfer. This normally positioned externally.

(c) Expansion Valve

Installed between the evaporator and condenser, used to relieve pressure in the refrigerant to allow it the conversion to gas that occurs in the evaporator.

(d) Compressor

The compressor pressurizes the refrigerant gas to convert it back to liquid.

As M&E engineers it is within our scope to design for Air conditioning systems based on industry standards and to our clients specific needs. Talk to us: Mail: info@relemech.co.ke, call us: +254735691990 and find us on facebook at www.facebook.com/Relemech .