What is Air Conditioner??

Air conditioning are the process of altering the properties of air (primarily temperature and humidity) to more favorable conditions. More generally, air conditioning can refer to any form of technological cooling, heating, ventilation, or disinfection that modifies the condition of air. An air conditioner (often referred to as AC) is a major or home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to change the air temperature and humidity within an area (used for cooling and sometimes heating depending on the air properties at a given time). The cooling is typically done using a simple refrigeration cycle, but sometimes evaporation is used, commonly for comfort cooling in buildings and motor vehicles. In construction, a complete system of heating, ventilation and air conditioning is referred to as "HVAC". The basic concept behind air conditioning is known to have been applied in ancient Egypt where reeds hung in windows had water trickling down. The evaporation of water cooled the air blowing through the window, though this process also made the air more humid. In Ancient Rome, water from aqueducts was circulated through the walls of certain houses to cool them down. Other techniques in medieval Persia involved the use of cisterns and wind towers to cool buildings during the hot season. Modern air conditioning emerged from advances in chemistry during the 19th century, and the first large-scale electrical air conditioning was invented and used in 1902 by Willis Haviland Carrier. The introduction in America of residential air conditioning in the 1920s helped start the great migration to the Sun Belt.

The History In 1902, the first modern electrical air conditioning unit was invented by Willis Haviland Carrier in Buffalo, New York. After graduating from Cornell University, Carrier, a native of Angola, New York, found a job at the Buffalo Forge Company. While there, Carrier began experimenting with air conditioning as a way to solve an application problem for the SackettWilhelms Lithographing and Publishing Company in Brooklyn, New York, and the first "air conditioner", designed and built in Buffalo by Carrier, began working on 17 July 1902. Designed to improve manufacturing process control in a printing plant, Carrier's invention controlled not only temperature but also humidity. Carrier used his knowledge of the heating of objects with steam and reversed the process. Instead of sending air through hot coils, he sent it through cold coils (ones filled with cold water). The air blowing over the cold coils cooled the air, and one could thereby control the amount of moisture the colder air could hold. In turn, the humidity in the room could be controlled. The low heat and humidity helped maintain consistent paper dimensions and ink alignment. Later, Carrier's technology was applied to increase productivity in the workplace, and The Carrier Air Conditioning Company of America was formed to meet rising demand. Over time, air conditioning came to be used to improve comfort in homes and automobiles as well. Residential sales expanded dramatically in the 1950s. In 1906, Stuart W. Cramer of Charlotte, North Carolina was exploring ways to add moisture to the air in his textile mill. Cramer coined the term "air conditioning", using it in a patent

claim he filed that year as an analogue to "water conditioning", then a well-known process for making textiles easier to process. He combined moisture with ventilation to "condition" and change the air in the factories, controlling the humidity so necessary in textile plants. Willis Carrier adopted the term and incorporated it into the name of his company. The evaporation of water in air, to provide a cooling effect, is now known as evaporative cooling.

How its work?/

How Does Air Conditioning Work
As with all air conditioning systems the principle remains the same whereby the heat is removed from one area and replaced with chilled dry air and the hot air is expelled, normally to the outside atmosphere. As you can see from this typical example of a air conditioning system, the ambient air is drawn over the condensor that can best described as a radiator as seen on motor vehicles but instead of water running through the system it contains a refrigerant gas. On its journey around the system it has three main stages; the evaporator contains the sub-cooled refrigerant and air blows through its veins to release the chilled dry air into the room, the condenser contains the high temperature gas that once again air is blown through the veins collecting the heat as it passes through and this is then expelled outside.

Basic Operations
An air conditioner is able to cool a building because it removes heat from the indoor air and transfers it outdoors. A chemical refrigerant in the system absorbs the unwanted heat and pumps it through a system of piping to the outside coil. The fan, located in the outside unit, blows outside air over the hot coil, transferring heat from the refrigerant to the outdoor air. Most air conditioning systems have five mechanical components: compressor condensor anevaporatorcoil blower a chemical refrigerant Most central air conditioning units operate by means of a split system. That is, they consist of a hot side, or the condensing unitincluding the condensing coil, the compressor and the fanwhich is situated outside your home, and a cold side that is located inside your home. The cold side consists of an expansion valve and a cold coil, and it is usually part of your furnace or some type of air handler. The furnace blows air through an evaporator coil, which cools the air. Then this cool air is routed throughout your home by means of a series of air ducts. A window unit operates on the same principal, the only difference being that both the hot side and the cold side are located within the same housing unit. The compressor (which is controlled by the thermostat) is the heart of the system. The compressor acts as the pump, causing the refrigerant to flow through the system. Its job is to draw in a low-pressure, low-temperature, refrigerant in a gaseous state and by compressing this gas, raise the pressure and temperature of the refrigerant. This high-pressure, high-temperature gas then flows to the condenser coil. The condenser coil is a series of piping with a fan that draws outside air across the coil. As the refrigerant passes through the condenser coil and the cooler outside air passes across the coil, the air absorbs heat from the refrigerant which causes the refrigerant to condense from a gas to a liquid state. The high-pressure, hightemperature liquid then reaches the expansion valve. The evaporator coil is a series of piping connected to a furnace or air handler that blows indoor air across it, causing the coil to absorb heat from the air. The cooled air is then delivered to the house through ducting. The refrigerant then flows back to the compressor where the cycle starts over again.

A simple stylized diagram of the refrigeration cycle: 1) condensing coil, 2) expansion valve, 3) evaporator coil, 4) compressor

Refrigeration cycle
Condenser

Capillary expansion valve connection to evaporator inlet. Notice frost formation

In the refrigeration cycle, a heat pump transfers heat from a lower-temperature heat source into a higher-temperature heat sink. Heat would naturally flow in the opposite direction. This is the most common type of air conditioning. A refrigerator works in much the same way, as it pumps the heat out of the interior and into the room in which it stands. This cycle takes advantage of the way phase changes work, where latent heat is released at a constant temperature during a liquid/gas phase change, and where varying the pressure of a pure substance also varies its condensation/boiling point. The most common refrigeration cycle uses an electric motor to drive a compressor. In an automobile, the compressor is driven by a belt over a pulley, the belt being driven by the engine's crankshaft (similar to the driving of the pulleys for the alternator, power steering, etc.). Whether in a car or building, both use electric fan motors for air circulation. Since evaporation occurs when heat is absorbed, and condensation occurs when heat is released, air conditioners use a compressor to cause pressure changes between two compartments, and actively condense and pump a refrigerant around. A refrigerant is pumped into the evaporator coil, located in the compartment to be cooled, where the low pressure causes the refrigerant to evaporate into a vapor, taking heat with it. At the opposite side of the cycle is the condenser, which is located outside of the cooled compartment, where the refrigerant vapor is compressed and forced through another heat exchange coil, condensing the refrigerant into a liquid, thus rejecting the heat previously absorbed from the cooled space.

Compressor

The job of the compressor/condenser unit is to recompress warm refrigerant gas (pulled from the indoor air handler cooling coil) back to a liquid refrigerant that can be returned to the indoor cooling coil once again. When the room thermostat calls for cooling, both the indoor blower or air handler and the outdoor compressor/condenser begin to work. Control

circuits and a contactor relay turn on the outside compressor/condenser motor and its outdoor cooling fan as well. The air conditioning or heat pump compressor compresses the incoming refrigerant to a high pressure gas and moves that gas into the condensing coil described just below. Typically a piston moves up and down inside of a cylinder inside the compressor motor, drawing in refrigerant gas on the down stroke of the piston, and compressing the refrigerant gas on the up stroke of the piston. (Some refrigeration compressors such as those made by Frigidaire used a rotary compressor design that we found durable and powerful enough to lead us to salvage and re-use these motors for other purposes. The refrigerant gas leaves the compressor at high pressure and at high temperature (since compressing a gas will raise its temperature). In most air conditioning or heat pump compressors, a piston moves up and down to draw in and then compress refrigerant gas, moving refrigerant vapor from the incoming low side to the outgoing high side of the compressor. The refrigerant gas leaving the compressor (and entering the condensing coil) will contain both heat that the refrigerant absorbed at the evaporator coil (heat from air in living space of the building), and additional heat produced at the compressor by the process of compressing the gas. The refrigerant gas is thus heat laden with sensible heat (heat that we can measure) from the living area and compressor heat from the compressor motor.

Evaporator

The evaporator works the opposite of the condenser, here refrigerant liquid is converted to gas, absorbing heat from the air in the compartment.

Air conditioning evaporator works by absorb heat from the area (medium) that need to be cooled. It does that by maintaining the evaporator coil at low temperature and pressure than the surrounding air. Since, the AC evaporator coil contains refrigerant that absorbs heat from the surrounding air, the refrigerant temperature must be lower than the air. The expansion device provides a pressure reduces between the high side and the low side of the system, the saturation temperature of the refrigerant entering the air conditioning evaporator is lower than the medium to be cooled. One of the characteristic of an ac refrigerant is that as the pressure is reduced the boiling point is also reduced. Therefore, as the pressure is reduced through the expansion device so is the point at which it will boil and become a vapor. As the warm air from the space passes over the evaporator coil, it gives up its heat to the lower temperature liquid/vapor mixture passing through the evaporator. As the liquid refrigerant absorbs this heat it boils changing from the liquid state to the vapor state. The amount of heat the air conditioner evaporator absorbs must equal the amount of heat it lost For instance, if the air conditioning evaporator gives up 100 Btus of heat to the surrounding hot air, then the refrigerant within the air conditioning evaporator coil must gain 100 Btus of heat. The amount of liquid entering the evaporator must be enough, so by the time it reaches the end of the evaporator. It will be completely boiled to the vapor state. There must be enough air flows across the AC evaporator coil to provides heat to the refrigerant in the evaporator coil. This is just a safety way to ensure the air conditioner compressor doesnt have the liquid refrigerant entering it.

Air conditioning evaporator picture above tells us what happen to the evaporator coil.

The evaporator coil absorbs heat into the refrigerant from the warmer air passing over the surface of the evaporator coil. The heat absorbed causes the liquid refrigerant to boil, changing it from a liquid state to a vapor state.

Blower

Blower/fan
Main articles: Mechanical fan and Centrifugal fan Air handlers typically employ a large squirrel cage blower driven by an AC induction electric motor to move the air. The blower may operate at a single speed, offer a variety of set speeds, or be driven by a Variable Frequency Drive to allow a wide range of air flow rates. Flow rate may also be controlled by inlet vanes or outlet dampers on the fan. Some residential air handlers (central "furnaces" or "air conditioners") use a brushless DC electric motor that has variable speed capabilities. Multiple blowers may be present in large commercial air handling units, typically placed at the end of the AHU and the beginning of the supply ductwork (therefore also called "supply fans"). They are often augmented by fans in the return air duct ("return fans") pushing the air into the AHU.

Controls
Main articles: Building automation and Building management system Controls are necessary to regulate every aspect of an air handler, such as: flow rate of air, supply air temperature, mixed air temperature, humidity, air quality. They may be as simple as an off/onthermostat or as complex as a building automation system using BACnet or LonWorks, for example. Common control components include temperature sensors, humidity sensors, sail switches, actuators, motors, and controllers.

System

Chilled water system Although standard air conditioners are very popular, they can use a lot of energy and generate quite a bit of heat. For large installations like office buildings, air handling and conditioning is sometimes managed a little differently. Some systems use water as part of the cooling process. The two most well-known are chilled water systems and cooling tower air conditioners. Chilled water systems - In a chilled-water system, the entire air conditioner is installed on the roof or behind the building. It cools water to between 40 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit (4.4 and 7.2 degrees

Celsius). The chilled water is then piped throughout the building and connected to air handlers. This can be a versatile system where the water pipes work like the evaporator coils in a standard air conditioner. If it's well-insulated, there's no practical distance limitation to the length of a chilled-water pipe.

Underfloor supply unit Underfloor air distribution (UFAD) is an air distribution strategy for providing ventilation and space conditioning in buildings as part of the design of an HVAC system. UFAD systems use the underfloor plenum beneath a raised floor to provide conditioned air through floor diffusers directly to the occupied zone.

System description
UFAD systems rely on air handling units to filter and condition air to the appropriate supply conditions so it can be delivered to the occupied zone. While overhead systems typically use ducts to distribute the air, UFAD systems use the underfloor plenum formed by installation of a raised floor. The plenum generally sits 0.3 and 0.46 metres (12 and 18 in) above the structural concrete slab, although lower [2][3] [4] heights are possible. Specially designed floor diffusers are used as the supply outlets. The most common UFAD configuration consists of a central air handling unit delivering air through a pressurized plenum and into the space through floor diffusers. Other approaches may incorporate fan powered terminal units at the outlets, underfloor ducts, desktop vents or connections to Personal [1] Environmental Control Systems. [edit]UFAD

air distribution and stratification

UFAD systems rely on the natural stratification that occurs when warm air rises due to thermal buoyancy. In a UFAD design, conditioned air stays in the lower, occupied part of the room, while heat sources such as occupants and equipment generate thermal plumes, which carry the warm air and heat source generated pollutants towards the ceiling where they are exhausted through the return air [1] ducts. The temperature stratification created by the UFAD system has implication for space setpoints. Most of an occupant's body is in an area that is colder than the temperature at the thermostat height; therefore, current practice recommends raising thermostat setpoints compared to traditional overhead systems. The optimal ventilation strategy controls the supply outlets to limit the mixing of supply air with room air to just below the breathing height of the space. Above this height, stratified and more polluted air is allowed to occur. The air that the occupant breathes will have a [1] lower concentration of contaminants compared to conventional uniformly mixed systems. Many factors, including the ceiling height, diffuser characteristics, number of diffusers, supply air [5] temperature, total flow rate, cooling load and conditioning mode affect the ventilation efficiency of UFAD systems. Swirl diffusers and perforated-floor-panel diffusers have been shown to create a low air velocity in the occupied zone, while linear diffusers created the highest velocity in the occupied [5] zone, disturbing thermal stratification and posing a potential draft risk. Additionally, floor diffusers add an element of personal control within the reach of the occupant, as users can adjust the amount of air that is delivered by the diffuser though rotating the diffuser top.
[5]

Direct Expansion Air Handling Unit (DX AHU)

Central air conditioners fall into two categories: direct expansion (DX) or chilled water. Today, with the help of this article from BrightHub.com, we will attempt to better describe one of these systems, direct expansion, which unlike chilled water systems that first chill water through a refrigeration plant then use that to chill the air, DX systems pass air directly over the cooling coil to be chilled. This means that the cooling efficiency of the DX system is much higher than water chilled units, but because it is not always feasible to carry the refrigerant piping over large distances, DX systems are usually only used for cooling small buildings or rooms on a single floor.

DX systems comprise of three main components: 1. The Plant Room: This area of the DX system is comprised of the refrigeration system, compressor and condenser. 2. The Air Handling Unit Room: The refrigerant leaving the condenser in the plant room enters the thermostatic expansion valve and then the air handling unit. This area is comprised of the evaporator or the cooling coil, air filter and the large blower. 3. Air Conditioned Room: This is the room that is to be air conditioned. The ductwork running from the air handling unit filters the cooled air into these rooms. While the efficiency of DX systems is higher than water chilled systems, the refrigerant piping cannot be kept at very long distance since there will be lots of drop in pressure of the refrigerant along the way and there will also be cooling losses. So DX systems do not always make sense.

Fan coil units

Design and operation

It should be first appreciated that 'Fan Coil Unit' is a generic term that is applied to a range of products. Also, the term 'Fan Coil Unit' will mean different things to users, specifiers and installers in different countries and regions, particularly in relation to product size and output capability. A fan coil unit may be concealed or exposed within the room or area that it serves. An exposed fan coil unit may be wall mounted, freestanding or ceiling mounted, and will typically include an appropriate enclosure to protect and conceal the fan coil unit itself, with return air grilleand supply air diffuser set into that enclosure to distribute the air. A concealed fan coil unit will typically be installed within an accessible ceiling void or services zone. The return air grille and supply air diffuser, typically set flush into the ceiling, will be ducted to and from the fan coil unit and thus allows a great degree of flexibility for locating the grilles to suit the ceiling layout and/or the partition layout within a space. It is quite common for the return air not to be ducted and to use the ceiling void as a return air plenum. The coil receives hot or cold water from a central plant, and removes heat from or adds heat to the air through heat transfer. Traditionally fan coil units can contain their own internal thermostat, or can be wired to operate with a remote thermostat. However, and as is common in most modern buildings with a Building Energy Management System (BEMS), the control of the fan coil unit will be by a local digital controller or outstation (along with associated room temperature sensor and control valve actuators) linked to the BEMS via a communication network, and therefore adjustable and controllable from a central point, such as a supervisors head end computer. Fan coil units circulate hot or cold water through a coil in order to condition a space. The unit gets its hot or cold water from a central plant, or mechanical room containing equipment for removing heat from the central building's closed-loop. The equipment used can consist of machines used to remove heat such as a chiller or a cooling tower and equipment for adding heat to the building's water such as a boiler or a commercial water heater.

Ventilation Controls
Although a typical HVAC system has many controls, the control of outdoor air quantity that enters the building can have a significant impact on IAQ, yet typically is not part of standard practice. Demand controlled ventilation is addressed as a method of humidity control, but is not otherwise discussed here because its primary use is to reduce the supply of outdoor air below the recommended minimum for the purposes of saving energy, not for improving IAQ. Volume Monitoring and Control Supplying acceptable quantities of outdoor air to occupied spaces is a critical component of good indoor air quality. Yet nearly all school ventilation systems cannot indicate whether outdoor air is even being supplied to the school, much less gauge the quantity of that air. Virtually all existing school ventilation systems rely upon a fixed damper to regulate the amount of outdoor air. Yet wind, stack effect, unbalanced supply and return fans, and constantly changing variable air volume (VAV) systems can cause significant under- or overventilation, which can affect IAQ and energy costs. Combinations of these effects can even cause the intake system to actually exhaust air. Specify the addition of a measuring station that actively controls the amount of outdoor airflow by modulating the outdoor air damper and the return (recirculation) damper, if needed to overcome wind and stack effects. These measuring stations are designed to work in limited duct space and with low air velocities. This is an easy task, as some manufacturers offer their airflow measuring stations in separate packages with dampers and actuators, and others are built into the AHU at the factory. Top of page

Moisture and Humidity Control

Uncontrolled moisture indoors can cause major damage to the building structure, as well as to furnishings and to finish materials like floors, walls, and ceilings. Uncontrolled moisture can trigger mold growth which not only damages the school facility, but can lead to health and performance problems for students and staff. Primary causes of indoor moisture problems in new schools include:

Problem

If the air conditioning system is not running at all:

1. Check the Room Thermostat Temperature Setting: Set the thermostat to at least 5 degrees below room temperature. Our elderly mom has no patience with switches and controls. She regularly calls her air conditioning service company with a service request, sometimes late at night, because she has simply failed to set the temperature on the thermostat lower than the room temperature. Don't drive your A/C like our mother. 2. Check that the Room Thermostat is set to "Cool" not "Off" or "Heat". If the thermostat is not set to "cool" it is simply turning off your A/C. Check that electricity is on for the equipment. Check all switches and controls, including service switches, including outside by the compressor, inside at the air handler, and fuses or circuit breakers in the electrical panel.

If At Least Some of the Air Conditioner or Heat Pump Equipment is Running but Cool Air is Not Being Delivered

Step 1: Check the Outside Air Conditioning /Heat Pump CompressorCondenser unit
Is the outdoor compressor-fan unit (COMPRESSOR & CONDENSING COIL) running? If not, be sure that the outdoor compressor/condenser unit service switch and the air conditioner indoor power switch, fuse, or circuit breaker are all in the "on" position. Check the outside compressor condensing coil for damage or blockage. A blocked condensing coil can cause the compressor to overheat, stop running, or become noisy and work poorly. A/C Compressor Problems

Step 2: Check the Air Conditioning /Heat Pump Indoor Air Handler
Is the indoor blower unit running? If not be sure that the electrical power switch at your furnace or air conditioner air-handler is in the "on" position. Typically the air handler or blower unit is indoors inside the basement, crawl area, or attic. Sometimes there is more than one switch, such as one right at the unit and another at the entry to the room where the equipment is located, or even upstairs on a higher floor if your air handler is in a basement or crawl space. Make sure that the blower compartment cover or door is properly closed or an interlock switch may be keeping the system "off".

Also remember to check for a dirty, blocked COOLING COIL or EVAPORATOR COIL. A coil blocked by ice or dirt will not produce cool air. A/C Cooling Coil Icing.

Step 3: Check the Air Conditioning /Heat Pump Air Filter(s)

If your air conditioning equipment is running but little or no cool air is coming out of the supply registers, check that your air filter(s) have not become blocked with dirt and debris.

Step 4: Check the Air Conditioning /Heat Pump system duct work & air supply registers
In ceilings, walls, or floors, where cool air is supposed to be delivered to various rooms in the building, be sure that the register is in the "open" position (you will be able to see through it into the ductwork) and be sure you haven't blocked the supply registers with a carpet or furniture. Look for a duct damper or register that has been closed; look for a flex-duct section that has become disconnected, bent, or crimped or squashed. Remember that a duct may have become disconnected in an attic or crawl space. Look for an air filter that has come loose and blown into the ductwork, clogging it.

Step 5: Check the Air Conditioning /Heat Pump indoor air handler blower fan assembly
If the indoor air handler blower fan itself won't start, see BLOWER FAN OPERATION & TESTING. Check for lost power, a fan motor that wont' start or has tripped a motor reset button or needs a start / run capacitor. Check for a blower fan that is loose on the motor drive shaft or for a broken or lost blower fan drive belt on pulley-driven blower systems.

How to Diagnose Air Conditioner Output Cool Air Flow Too Weak, Too Cold, or Too Warm