TYPES OF AIR CONDITIONING

There are different types of air conditioning systems available to day in the market. We have a few list that will be explored here in this article. We now live in a world where we could make living conditions favourable for everyone. Devices provided by the works of technology have made life more comfortable. Air conditioners have provided us with one of the comforts we wouldn’t trade for any other. By altering the temperature indoors during extreme seasons, we wouldn’t have to try so hard to be comfortable in our homes, schools, offices, and everywhere else we go.

Air conditioners are packaged, differently giving rise to different types of air conditioning. However, the processes by which they work apply almost the same principles. Air conditioning involves a mechanism that converts the phases of matter. When a liquid is converted into gas, heat is absorbed. Without the heat, the air is cooled and released into the space. Since every air conditioner runs on this principle, the efficiency of air conditioning will depend on the engineering of the different components and how well the principles are applied.

Technology has allowed the evolution of everyday things to make things easier for us. Even the process air conditioning is tweaked in one or more stages to make a variety of air conditioners available in the market. The following are the most common types of air conditioning units suitable for the Adelaide weather:

Important Types of Air Conditioning

Split System

The split system remains one of the most popular and traditional types of air conditioning people install in homes and offices.
It includes two main components: a compressor located outside the house and an evaporator installed inside.
The thermostat detects warm indoor air and signals the outdoor compressor to begin the cooling process.
Once activated, the compressor circulates a refrigerant gas that increases in pressure and temperature as it moves through the pipes.
Inside the condenser, the system removes heat from the gas and condenses it into a cold liquid.
This cold liquid travels through tubes to the indoor evaporator, which pulls in warm air and cools it with the refrigerant.
A fan blows this chilled air into the room, effectively lowering the room temperature.
Excess heat and unused refrigerant flow back to the compressor to repeat the cycle.
This system cools individual rooms effectively; users can connect multiple evaporators to one compressor to cool several rooms.

Window Air Conditioning

Window units operate similarly to split systems but follow a more compact and simplified design.
Each unit contains a compressor, expansion valve, hot and cold coils, two fans, and a control unit.
The fan pulls warm outdoor air across the coils, where the system releases heat and circulates cool air into the room.

Ducted Refrigerated Air Conditioning

This system relies on the heat pump principle shared by many modern air conditioners.
It draws hot air over a cold refrigerant liquid, which absorbs the heat and cools the air.
A fan then pushes the cool air into rooms through a duct network.
As the refrigerant heats up and evaporates, it travels to the compressor and becomes a high-pressure gas.
The system pumps this gas into an outdoor heat exchanger, where it releases heat and turns back into liquid.
An expansion device lowers the pressure and temperature so the refrigerant can absorb heat again.
This cycle continues as long as the unit remains on.
A wall-hung air conditioning unit follows the same process but releases cool air directly into the room, not through ducts.

Ducted Reverse Cycle Air Conditioning

Reverse cycle systems function like ducted refrigerated units but can switch modes to provide heating.
In winter, the unit pulls cold air from outside and reverses the cycle to release warm air indoors.
This system offers both cooling and heating, making it highly versatile year-round.

Evaporative Air Conditioning

Evaporative cooling uses a natural air conditioning method that benefits both the environment and your energy bills.
The system draws warm outdoor air and passes it through wet cooling pads or filter pads.
As air flows through the saturated pads, the moisture evaporates, removing heat energy and lowering the temperature.
A ventilation fan pushes this cool air into the home through ducts.
This process depends on humidity, using both dry bulb (incoming air) and wet bulb (evaporation potential) temperatures to optimize performance.
Evaporation requires humidity below 100% to work properly.
Since these systems don’t use compressors or condensers, manufacturers use the same principles in portable air conditioners, which can be moved room to room.
They operate independently without outdoor tubing or connections.