Air conditioning

Central air conditioning is now a standard feature in homes. The term “central” means that there is one system which serves the entire house. Central air conditioners consist of two parts. The first is inside. It houses an evaporator coil and a fan (blower). This unit is often referred to as an air handler. It is connected to ductwork which distributes the cooled air throughout the house. If you have a furnace for heating, the evaporator coil will usually be mounted on top of it so that the furnace’s fan can also serve the air conditioning. There will be a small pipe at the bottom of the air conditioning unit. This is for condensation which precipitates as the air conditioner cools the air. Moisture collects in a pan below the evaporator coil, flows into the condensate pipe, and then flows out of the house usually by the path of the basement floor drain.

The second unit is typically located outside the house in the yard. This unit is referred to as the compressor. There is a large fan inside, with slots or openings in the frame. Inside there is also a sealed compressor, which manipulates a refrigerant, which many people call Freon® (actually DuPont’s trade name for the product) but now HCFC-22 is substituted for Freon® to produce the cooling effect. The

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