1.

Refrigeration removes the heat from the enclosed space where as AC cools the air and
the circulates in the enclosed space
2.Refrigeration does not cater to latent heat load i.e it does not have any control over
humidity whereas AC caters both latent as well as sensible load so it has temperature as
well as humidity control
3.Refrigeration has no control over air quality whereas AC has filters to improve air
quality
4.Refrigeration does not involve circulation of air as it only works on heat absorption for
phase change of refrigerant in vapour cycle whereas AC cools the air in air handling unit
(AHU) and then circulates it through the space .
5.Refrigerants used in AC are not Fluro Carbons are these have a higher Global
warming and Ozone depletion potential i.e these are harmful to humans in case of
leakage
6.Refrigeration does not cater to Human comfort i.e it is mostly used for storage and you
wont find comfort in refrigerated space because of extremely
7. Air conditioner maintains the different properties of air like temp, humidity level and
etc. by taking away heat from the air any supply same amount of air in cooled conditions
in comfortable zone. But refrigerator use some gas or air which by circulation, from top
to bottom parts of refrigerator , takes away heat from different products and maintains a
different temp level in different sections just keep the various products safe n healthy.....
Refrigeration may be defined as the process of achieving and maintaining a
temperature below that of the surroundings, the aim being to cool some
product or space to the required temperature. One of the most important
applications of refrigeration has been the preservation of perishable food
products by storing them at low temperatures. Refrigeration systems are also
used extensively for providing thermal comfort to human beings by means of
air conditioning. Air Conditioning refers to the treatment of air so as to
simultaneously control its temperature, moisture content, cleanliness, odour
and circulation, as required by occupants, a process, or products in the space.
The subject of refrigeration and air conditioning has evolved out of human
need for food and comfort, and its history dates back to centuries. The
history of refrigeration is very interesting since every aspect of it, the
availability of refrigerants, the prime movers and the developments in
compressors and the methods of refrigeration all are a part of it.

In many ways air conditioning and refrigeration systems are very

similar. Both use specially designed chemicals, the physical
effects of the compression and expansion of gases, and the

conversion of gas to liquid to reduce the temperature of air. The

varying uses of these systems, however, mean refrigeration and
air conditioning systems have a handful of key differences in the
design and operation.

Supply
A major difference between refrigeration and air conditioning is the point of
supply for the gases. Refrigeration systems have gas installed in a series of
tubes. In old refrigerators, this gas was chloro-flouro-carbon, or CFC, but
this has harmful effects on people, so refrigerators not contain HFC-134a.
HFC-134a is the sole gas used as a coolant in refrigeration systems. Air
conditioning systems use built-in chemicals, but also air from the room or
rooms being heated. Gases built into air conditioning units cool air that
circulates through the unit; the unit then redistributes the cooled air through
the room.

Circulation
Air conditioners have circulation systems designed to project cool air away
from the units while refrigeration units have circulation systems designed to
retain coolant in a confined space. Refrigeration systems circulate cool
liquids and gases through a series of tubes and vents. Cool air from within a
refrigerator is sucked into a compressor that recycles the gas through the
tubes. Air conditioners, while also employing tubes in the coolant system,
have fans for the dispersal of air. Unlike refrigeration systems, which keep
gases contained to a pre-determined space, air conditioning systems disperse
cool air throughout areas of unknown volume.

Vaporization

Both air conditioning and refrigeration units depend on converting liquid to gas in the
cooling process, but the manner in which they achieve this is different for each
system. Air conditioners use something called an evaporator to convert a liquid to a
gas. An evaporator is a small, narrow hole designed to change the pressure of a liquid
so that it evaporates. Refrigeration units, on the other hand, cycle HFC into a lowpressure chamber designed to boil the gas. This boiling causes HFC to vaporize.
Vaporization is the process of converting a liquid to a gas and can be accomplished
one of two ways: boiling or evaporation. Thus air conditioning units vaporize liquid
through evaporation while refrigeration systems do so through boiling.

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