Though ubiquitous throughout Singapore's landscape, not everyone knows exactly how an air conditioner works. Most of our knowledge is limited to knowing that some folks from Daikin or Mitsubishi have to service the damn thing once in a while, doing god knows what with the air con filter in your shower. Hence, in order to ensure that everyone knows that the Daikin guy isn't playing his PSP or installing a hidden camera in your shower stall, let us look into the basic principles behind the operation of an air conditioner.
An air conditioner is essentially a refrigerator without the insulated box. In essence, the space that the air conditioner is cooling is the refrigerator box, so think of yourself as a piece of meat or fresh fruit (whichever suits your personal orientation) Air conditioners use the evaporation of a refrigerant, like Freon, to provide cooling.
Diagram of evaporative cooling process in basic air conditioners This is how the evaporation cycle in an air conditioner works:
- The compressor compresses cool Freon gas, causing it to become hot, high-pressure Freon gas (red in the diagram above).
- This hot gas runs through a set of coils so it can dissipate its heat, and it condenses into a liquid.
- The Freon liquid runs through an expansion valve, and in the process it evaporates to become cold, low-pressure Freon gas (light blue in the diagram above).
- This cold gas runs through a set of coils that allow the gas to absorb heat and cool down the air inside the building.
a small amount of lightweight oil is mixed in with the Freon to help lubricate the compressor.
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