An air conditioning (AC) compressor is a crucial component of the cooling system in air conditioners and refrigeration systems. Its primary function is to circulate the refrigerant through the AC system, facilitating the heat exchange process that cools the indoor air. Here's how the AC compressor works to circulate the refrigerant:
Compression: The process begins when the refrigerant, in a gaseous state, enters the AC compressor. The compressor's main function is to compress this low-pressure, low-temperature gas into a high-pressure, high-temperature gas. This compression process increases the refrigerant's energy and prepares it for the next stages of the cooling cycle.
Discharge: Once the refrigerant is compressed to the desired high-pressure state, it leaves the compressor through the discharge port. The refrigerant, now in a hot and high-pressure state, moves further along the AC system's refrigerant lines.
Condensation: As the hot, high-pressure refrigerant travels through the condenser coils located in the outdoor unit of the AC system, it starts to lose heat. This causes the refrigerant to condense from a gas to a liquid while still under high pressure.
Expansion: The high-pressure liquid refrigerant then moves into the expansion valve or the thermal expansion valve (TXV). The valve's purpose is to reduce the pressure of the liquid refrigerant and control the flow rate into the evaporator coils. This sudden pressure drop causes the refrigerant to expand rapidly and cool significantly.
Evaporation: The cold, low-pressure refrigerant now enters the evaporator coils located in the indoor unit of the AC system. As warm indoor air passes over the evaporator coils, the refrigerant absorbs heat from the air, causing it to evaporate back into a low-pressure gas.
Return to Compressor: The now-cooled and low-pressure refrigerant gas goes back to the compressor, and the entire process repeats to maintain a continuous cycle of cooling.
This continuous cycle of compression, condensation, expansion, and evaporation allows the AC system to absorb heat from the indoor air and release it outside, effectively cooling the indoor environment.
The AC compressor plays a central role in this process, as it is responsible for raising the pressure of the refrigerant gas, enabling the entire cooling cycle to function and keeping your living or working space comfortable during hot weather.