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Fulmer Heating & Cooling Blog

How Your AC Does What It Does

condenser-unit

There are situations when it helps to understand how something works. Why? So that way you can better identify when it isn’t working properly. This is exactly why we want to give you a quick rundown of how your AC works.

Here is a brief overview of how your air conditioner in Columbia operates. Understanding the ins and outs of the cooling system’s process will help you determine more easily if and when you should call in one of our technicians.

An Overview of the Cooling Process

Here is a basic outline of how your air conditioner cools the air for your home.

1. Your thermostat tells your AC it’s time to get to work

The house is starting to heat up. Maybe you have a thermostat that is programmed to turn on the AC after it goes above a certain temperature or maybe you have to do it manually. The fact remains that adjusting your thermostat is the first step to getting things started. When your thermostat detects that it is time to cool things down it is going to get your air conditioner up and running.

2. Your system evaporates refrigerant to absorb heat

Refrigerant is the substance needed to pull heat out of your home. The refrigerant supply starts to circulate and it is evaporated in order to allow it to absorb heat from the air that is pulled from your house. This is key to cooling off the airflow that helps to cool down the temperature in your home.

3. The now-heated refrigerant travels outside to be compressed

Now that the evaporated refrigerant has absorbed enough heat, it is cycled outside to the system compressor. Here, the refrigerant is condensed which will allow it to release the heat it has collected. From there the refrigerant is condensed back down to a liquid which will allow it to be pumped back indoors to repeatthe process.

4. The cool air is blown throughout the home

If all of the steps before are accomplished properly then the cool air that is produced should be blown throughout your home with little issue. This will continue until your home is cooled correctly and your thermostat signals the air conditioner to shut down.

What Might Go Wrong?

So what can go wrong with your air conditioner? There is a wide range of problems that can pop up including

  • Loose parts
  • A dirty air filter
  • A dirty evaporator coil
  • Refrigerant line leaks
  • Fan problems
  • Ductwork leaks
  • Compressor problems
  • Electrical issues

At the end of the day though, if your air conditioner is malfunctioning in any way it means that you should reach out to our team for assistance. We can provide maintenance that helps to prevent a majority of problems. But, if and when issues do appear, we can provide repairs that will get things working properly again.

Contact the experts at Fulmer Heating & Cooling to get your air conditioner effective and efficient again. We offer 24/7 emergency services for issues that pop up at the worst times.

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