Study of Windows Air Conditioner All residential window air conditioners have a cooling system made up of four primary

components, a compressor, an evaporator, a metering device, and a condenser. Air conditioner cooling systems are better understood if you think of them as devices that remove warmth from the air rather than cooling the air. The compressor is the motor (or engine) of the cooling system. It is normally located in the middle of the air conditioner. It is almost always black in color and about the size of a football. The compressor is running whenever the air conditioner selector switch is set to "cool" and the thermostat is calling for a colder room temperature. It is normally very quiet. When running, it is compressing a refrigerant from a low pressure gas to a high pressure gas. The high pressure gas is then cooled to a liquid inside the condenser. The liquid then travels through the condenser. The condenser is a series of tubes with fins attached to them, similar to a radiator. It is always located on the back of the air conditioner. The condenser appears as a set of silver fins mounted to the back of the air conditioner. In its liquid state the refrigerant gives off heat. This heat is conducted away from the refrigerant tubes by the silver fins. Once the liquid refrigerant has traveled the length of the tubes it is forced through a tiny copper tube called a capillary tube, which is the metering device. The capillary tube is attached from the end of the condenser to the beginning of the evaporator. The evaporator is always located on the front of the air conditioner. It also has silver fins. When the liquid refrigerant comes out of the small capillary tube it is injected into the larger tubes of the evaporator. When the liquid enters the larger tubes it is allowed to expand back into a gaseous state. In its gaseous state the refrigerant absorbs heat. The gaseous refrigerant travels through the evaporator tubes back to the compressor. Because the evaporator is absorbing heat, it is very cold to the touch. The temperature drop causes any humidity in the air to collect on the evaporator - sometimes called sweat. There is a fan inside the air conditioner that circulates the air for the evaporator and condenser coils. The metering device is usually a small tube between the condenser outlet and evaporator inlet. The length and diameter determine how much refrigerant will be allowed into the evaporator or cooling coil. On larger systems this can be a valve that opens and closes according to the temperature of the outlet of the cooling coil, which ensures the proper flow of refrigerant to the coil.

Working of Window Air Conditioner:

The working of window air conditioner can be explained by separately considering the two cycles of air: room air cycle and the hot air cycle. The compartments of the room and hot air are separated by an insulated partition inside the body of the air conditioner. The air moving inside the room and in the front part of the air conditioner where the cooling coil is located is considered to be the room air. When the window AC is started the blower starts immediately and after a few seconds the compressor also starts. The evaporator coil or the cooling gets cooled as soon as the compressor is started. The blower behind the cooling coil starts sucking the room air, which is at high temperature and also carries the dirt and dust particles. On its path towards the blower, the room air first passes through the filter where the dirt and dust particles from it get removed. The air then passes over the cooling coil where two processes occur. Firstly, since the temperature of the cooling coil is much lesser than the room air, the refrigerant inside the cooling coil absorbs the heat from the air. Due to this the temperature of the room air becomes very low, that is the air becomes chilled. Secondly, due to reduction in the temperature of the air, some dew is formed on the surface of the cooling coil. This is because the temperature of the cooling coil is lower than the dew point temperature of the air. Thus the moisture from the air is removed so the relative humidity of the air reduces. Thus when the room air passes over the cooling coil its temperature and relative humidity reduces. This air at low temperature and low humidity is sucked by the blower and it blows it at high pressure. The chilled air then passes through small duct inside the air conditioner and it is then thrown outside the air conditioner through the opening in the front panel or the grill. This chilled air then enters the room and chills the room maintaining low temperature and low humidity inside the room. The cool air inside the room absorbs the heat and also the moisture and so its temperature and moisture content becomes high. This air is again sucked by the blower and the cycle repeats. Some outside air also gets mixed with this room air. Since this air is sent back to the blower, it is also called as the return room air. In this way the cycle of this return air or the room air keeps on repeating. Hot Air Cycle The hot air cycle includes the atmospheric air that is used for cooling the condenser. The condenser of the window air conditioner is exposed to the external atmosphere. The propeller fan located behind the condenser sucks the atmospheric at high temperature and it blows the air over the condenser.

The refrigerant inside the condenser is at very high temperature and it has to be cooled to produce the desired cooling effect. When the atmospheric air passes over the condenser, it absorbs the heat from the refrigerant and its temperature increases. The atmospheric air is already at high temperature and after absorbing the condenser heat, its temperature becomes even higher. The person standing behind the condenser of the window AC can clearly feel the heat of this hot air. Since the temperature of this air is very high, this is called as hot air cycle. The refrigerant after getting cooled enters the expansion valve and then the evaporator. On the other hand, the hot mixes with the atmosphere and then the fresh atmospheric air is absorbed by the propeller fan and blown over the condenser. This cycle of the hot air continues. Setting the Room Temperature with Thermostat The temperature inside the room can be set by using the thermostat knob or the remote control. If your window AC has knob, you would see some numbers or the round scale round the knob that will enable setting the temperature desired in the room. If your AC has come with the remote control, then you will see the room temperature on the digital indicator placed in the control panel of the window AC. You would probably also see the temperature on the small screen of the remote control. With the buttons provided on the remote control you can easily set the temperature inside the room. When the desired temperature is attained inside the room, the thermostat stops the compressor of the AC. After some time when the temperature of the air becomes higher again, the thermostat restarts the compressor to produce the cooling effect. One should set the thermostat at the required temperature and not keep it at very low temperature to avoid high electricity bills. Setting the Speed of the Air The Speed of the air can be set by the fan motor button provided on the control panel. If your AC has the remote control you can see the fan speed button on it. The motor of the blower is of multispeed that type that enable changing the speed or the flow of air inside the room. Air Filter The filter is a very important part of the AC since it cleans the air before it enters the room. For proper functioning of the filter it is very important to clean it every two weeks. If this is not done the filter will get choked and it wont be able to clean the air. Soon the dirt will also enter the evaporator coil and choke it. If this happens the AC will stop functioning and cleaning the evaporator becomes a very tedious process. Cleaning the filter hardly takes five minutes, do it regularly and enjoy the comforts of window AC on long-term basis.

Selection of Windows AC: If you have a small area to cool in the summer - say, one or two rooms a room air conditioner may be a more economical choice than a central air conditioning unit. It will cost less initially and it will cost less to operate in the long run. Most room air conditioners sit in a window where they can exhaust warm air to the outside. Window installations can be drafty, however, so at the end of the warm weather season some people remove the unit from the window and store it for the winter. Room air conditioners can also be built into the wall for a more permanent installation. Keep in mind that, when choosing a room air conditioner, size is important. A unit that is too small will run continually without cooling the room effectively. On the other hand, if you buy a unit that's too large for the space you're cooling, it actually will be less effective than one that's the correct size. Bigger isn't necessarily better. Air conditioners work by removing both heat and humidity. Humidity condenses from the air when it passes over the air conditioner's cooling coils. So a unit that is too big will cool the room so quickly that it won't have the opportunity to remove as much humidity from the air as it should. As a result, the unit will keep turning off and on and the room will feel damp, clammy and less comfortable. A properly sized unit, on the other hand, will remove humidity effectively as it cools. Also remember that larger units cost more and use additional energy. Running a smaller unit for a longer period of time will use less energy to completely cool a room than running a larger unit for a shorter time. Recommended sizes of windows AC according areas are as follows: Area to be Size of air Area to be Size of air Area to be Size of air cooled in conditioner cooled in conditioner cooled in sq. conditioner sq. ft sq. ft ft 100 to 150 150 to 250 250 to 300 300 to 350 5000 6000 7000 8000 350 to 400 400 to 450 450 to 550 550 to 700 9000 10000 12000 14000 700 to 1000 18000 1000 to 1400 24000

When looking for the correct size air conditioner, keep these suggestions in mind, as well:

If the room is heavily shaded, you can reduce the BTU capacity by 10% If the room is very sunny, you should increase the BTU capacity by 10% If more than 2 people regularly occupy the room, add 600 Btu for each additional person If the unit is for a kitchen, increase the capacity by 4,000 Btu/Hr.