Air conditioning helps maintain the optimum room temperature while also removing humidity along with airborne particles. So, if you’re in search of both cooler and cleaner air, then air conditioning makes a smart choice for any home or commercial environment.
As a user, the inner workings of air conditioning may be limited to adjusting the thermostat. However, like most things that operate in your home or building, there’s a myriad of clever processes and technology that help air conditioning to do its job.
Here is an overview of how air conditioning works to guide you, along with information on its benefits and how to get air conditioning installed within your property.
Who Invented Air Conditioning?
Dubbed ‘the man who cooled the world’ air conditioning was pioneered by the American inventor Willis Carrier, back in 1902. At the time, Carrier was working as a heating engineer on a job at a printing company. The air was so hot and humid that it caused production issues, as the heat was affecting the ink. As you can imagine, this was negatively affecting the business so a solution was badly needed.
In response, Carrier designed a mechanical air controller capable of reducing both the heat and humidity within an indoor environment. How it worked is that air would pass through a filter over coils containing a coolant, which would cool the air as it did so. The basic principles of Carrier’s technology are still in use today, though of course air conditioning technology has vastly improved since its initial conception.
How Air Conditioning Works: An Overview
Around the world, air conditioning units work slightly differently. As an example, they are known as HVAC systems in the United States. Here in the UK, air conditioning units are comprised of the following units: evaporators, compressors and condensers.
Air conditioning works by drawing warm air into the system, where the air flows over cold evaporator pipes. In doing so, the air is cooled while a dehumidifier simultaneously removes excess moisture.
In addition, coolant that flows through the chiller pipes absorbs the heat from the air causing it to evaporate, which turns the cool liquid into a warm gas. The warm air is pumped outside, and the coolant flows through both a compressor unit and a condenser which turn it into a cool liquid.
This then allows the cool air to be re-circulated back into the room, reducing both the temperature and humidity.
The temperature of the air along with aspects such as fan speed and air swag can be manually controlled by the user, via units that are installed as part of the wider system. There are various types of air conditioning styles and placement options, depending on the building and the budget of the project.
Air Conditioning Vs The Alternatives
If you’ve ever walked into a room whether it be your bedroom, office or even a hotel room and in that initial second, you mistakenly think you’ve opened the oven door, then you’ll know just how unbearably intense heat can be. This is especially the case when the air temperature outside is also very warm with no breeze, meaning little relief is available.
While air conditioning is a sensible choice for practically every such scenario where it’s too hot inside, up until this point you may have been using alternative methods of trying to cool the room. Here are some of the most common methods along with why air conditioning reigns supreme.
Fans – Whether you purchase a handheld fan or a state-of-the-art one, there is no getting away from the fact most fans simply blow air around the room. Unlike air conditioning, they don’t remove the heat from the room, and you can’t even program the temperature to your desired level. Even the snazziest of fans also don’t cool the air evenly in the room, let alone throughout your whole house or building. This means you’ll be left with hot and cold spots, which just isn’t efficient.
Opening a window – As we mentioned above, when the temperature outside is warm, opening a window isn’t going to offer much relief. Leaving windows open also leaves the building vulnerable to burglars and can invalidate any insurance claims, so this method isn’t ideal unless the room will be continually occupied. For high-rise buildings, open windows may also pose a safety risk. So while opening windows regularly is great for getting some fresh air into the building, an air conditioning unit can do this for you without any of the associated hassles.
Ice packs – Undoubtedly ice packs are great for placing on an injury. However, even if you feel temporary relief from the heat with an ice pack, the room itself will not actually be cooled. Instead, the ice pack will absorb the heat from your body (only the area you place it on), before rapidly melting again.
Benefits Of Air Conditioning
First and foremost, the comfort of all those in the environment whether it be a home or commercial space will be greatly enhanced when the temperature is just right. On the flip side, rooms that are too warm are difficult to relax, work and sleep in depending on the type of environment in question. Either way, there are few if any benefits of having a room that feels hot and stuffy.
Air conditioning is a sleek contraption that very effectively removes heat and humidity from the room. The last few summers we have experienced in the UK are a testament to the importance of being able to cool the room, and the changing climate will only bring more of the same. Hence, air conditioning makes it easy to manage the comfort levels of the room whatever the weather may bring.
Homeowners will also be pleased to know that air conditioning can add anywhere from 2.5% up to 10% onto the value of your property. Even the mention of ‘aircon’ can be a very attractive proposition in a property listing, with some buyers and renters specifically looking out for it as a feature. Likewise, in a commercial space especially with lots of computer monitors heating the environment, air conditioning is equally desired so that productivity doesn’t dip in the hotter months.
Also, air conditioning comes in a wide range of styles and designs. Here at Lee Jackson Air Conditioning, we provide our customers with ceiling mounted air conditioning, ducted air conditioning, floor mounted air conditioning, wall mounted air conditioning and much more as part of our vast range of services. All of this means, no matter what your environment or indeed budget, we can always come up with the perfect solution to keep everyone cool and comfortable.
Air Conditioning Brands
Air Conditioning Near Me
Don’t put up with another long hot summer (or stuffy winter in the office for that matter!). Instead, experience the magic of a professional air conditioning installation and the cool relief that follows.
Here at Lee Jackson, we’re expert air conditioning installers with over 15 years in business. We offer our customers a fully customised solution whether you only want to make your living room in your house cooler or your whole hotel.
We install across Nottingham, Derbyshire and Leicestershire. If you have any questions about anything we’ve mentioned above, or if you’re ready to go ahead and book your air conditioning installation, we’re here to help!
Give us a call on 0800 949 9070 or drop us an email and our friendly team will get back to you.
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