Cold Facts
Air conditioners do not create cold, they remove heat… long explanation but well worth the read…
Modern buildings are designed for comfort year round which involve heating during cold weather and cooling during hot weather. The system that serves both functions is referred to as Heating/Ventilation/& Air Conditioning or HVAC.
This article is about the Air Conditioning side of the unit or, A/C for short. The A/C system consists of an exterior component called a compressor working in conjunction with an interior A/C evaporative coil, which is a simple radiator similar to your car, with copper refrigerant lines connecting the two together.
Refrigerant at atmospheric pressure is a gas and the job of the compressor is to compress the gas into a liquid and pump to a small radiator called a coil located in the air handler inside of the building. A special device called an expansion valve at the coil releases the pressure of the liquid back into a gas as it passes over the evaporative coil which has interior air blowing over the fins. Refrigerant has this interesting physical property when it changes from a liquid to a gas it absorbs heat which is how it actually “removes” ambient heat from the interior air thereby lowering the temperature and cooling the building.
The now hot refrigerant is pumped back to the exterior compressor which also houses a second radiator which dissipates the heat via a fan to the outside. Whew… that was a long basic explanation and I hope you made it so far, since what comes next is very important for a homeowner to understand in terms of regular maintenance.
A byproduct of this process is the dehumidification of the interior air where excessive moisture condensates on the cold coil and will drip off into a catch pan below and harmlessly drain either into the interior plumbing or more than likely to the outside of the building.
Lower humidity equals more comfort at higher temperatures since your body does not need to overcome the moisture to cool itself. Welcome process, except… Even if you change the filter on a regular basis, (more on that with a different post) a gelatinous material, referred to the a most scientific name we use in the industry, Slime… will grow in the area. It is not particularly hazardous to the occupants but plays havoc with the drainage line and if it clogs will simply overflow the catch pan and damage interior electronic equipment of the HVAC and possibly drain down through the ceiling and living space, particularly if it is mounted in the attic which is quite common.
All this to say that it is imperative to have your entire system fully cleaned, inspected, and serviced once a year by a qualified HVAC technician so that this unfortunate event does not happen and that the system operates at maximum efficiency. Keep in mind that in this area and climate the most expensive utility is electric and one of the highest consumers is your air conditioning system so this yearly expense will more than pay for itself in terms of efficiency and reliability, not to mention prevent potentially expensive water damage to the equipment and/ or interior living space…
I hope you enjoyed the article and as Ringo Star once said after the Beatles recorded the song Get Back live on top of Apple Studio in London, “I hope we passed the audition…”
