At Ideal Mechanical, we understand that choosing air conditioning can seem daunting and confusing. There are many different kinds of air conditioning from a wide variety of manufacturers and unless you are an experienced purchaser of such systems, the choice can be bewildering. But don’t worry, we are here to help you understand the jargon and select the best air conditioning system for your needs.

What is Air Conditioning?

Air conditioning is a mechanical system designed to cool and distribute air into a space in order to improve the environment for people or equipment. Heat is extracted from a space and expelled elsewhere using a process called the refrigeration cycle.

Invented early in the 20th century to improve manufacturing processes, the refrigeration cycle was soon being applied to create a more comfortable environment and promote productivity in workplaces. We are all now familiar with the benefits of the refrigeration cycle as it is at the heart of the domestic refrigerator.

In our refrigerators a special chemical known as refrigerant is repeatedly changed in its state from liquid to gas and back again to liquid in a closed system of pipe-work. The system typically consists of a compressor, condenser, evaporator and expansion valve.

Whilst a refrigerator is designed to remove heat from the food stored inside it and expel the heat into the room, an air conditioning system works in a similar way to remove heat from the air within a room and expel that heat elsewhere (usually to the external atmosphere).

Modern air conditioners also filter and dehumidify the air. This further enhances its quality and improves the comfort of the occupants and the performance of heat or humidity-sensitive equipment.

How Does Air Conditioning Work?

Generally, there are five core elements to an air conditioning system:

• Indoor unit - a fan blows hot room air over a heat-exchanging coil that contains cold refrigerant (the Evaporator). The cold refrigerant absorbs heat and cool air is blown into the room
• Pipe-work - refrigerant is moved through the system by a specialized pump called a compressor. Heat collected from the indoor unit is transferred to the external unit (the Condenser)
• External unit - compression heats up the refrigerant gas even further and much of the heat gained is released to the atmosphere using a fan that blows outdoor air over another heat-exchanging coil
• Pipe-work - liquid refrigerant moves back to the indoor room unit
• Indoor unit - the refrigerant is decompressed as is passes past the Expansion Valve, cools and can now extract heat from the room

In modern air conditioners this cycle can be easily reversed to provide energy-efficient indoor heating by extracting heat energy from the outside air. This heating (often called a heat pump) is effective even in freezing external temperatures.

Benefits of Air Conditioning

Research shows that there is a close correlation between temperature and a person’s productivity. Accidents, mistakes, low morale and increased absenteeism all occur more frequently in extremes of temperature, with most people feeling comfortable in a temperature of 18-21°C and a relative humidity of 40%-60%. Ideal mechanical installs and maintains a wide range of designs to suit all applications and budgets. The most appropriate solution depends on a range of factors, including :

• The primary uses of the spaces to be cooled
• The heat being produced in the space due to people, equipment and solar gain
• Where the air conditioning equipment can be located, both indoors and outdoors
• Whether individual control of the temperature in various rooms is required.

Modern air conditioning also contains high performance matrix and electrostatic filtration which ensure a cleaner, healthier environment by minimizing the build-up of airborne dust and contaminants.

Selecting the Right Air Conditioning For You

The majority of smaller air conditioning installations use ‘Split Air Conditioners’, of which the simplest form is the Single Split. In the Single Split design the outdoor (condenser) unit, housing the compressor, cooling fan and condenser heat exchanger, is located outside the building or the area being cooled. The indoor (evaporator) units can be discreetly wall-mounted, fixed under the ceiling or recessed into a false ceiling. This latter type is often called a 'ceiling cassette'.

The indoor and outdoor units are connected with pipe-work through which the refrigerant gas or liquid flows.

Split air conditioning ranges include lower capacity units, making them ideal for smaller rooms and locations. However, they extend up to larger more powerful models for commercial applications. All provide quiet operation, smooth air distribution and clean, modern designs.

A development of the single split design (where each outdoor unit is connected to a single indoor unit) is the Multi-Split.

Multi-split systems enable a number of indoor units to be connected to one outdoor unit. This arrangement can, in some applications, reduce cost and installation time.

If air conditioning is required in a larger space, or in multiple adjacent rooms, a better solution is the Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) Air Conditioning system (also sometimes known as VRV – Variable Refrigerant Volume).

VRF/VRV systems consist of a number of indoor air handling units connected to a single external condenser. They enable refrigerant flow to be adjusted through sophisticated controls, using either an inverter-controlled variable speed compressor, or multiple compressors of varying capacities.

These more sophisticated systems are best-suited to larger, commercial applications. They are capable of responding quickly and efficiently to changes in the cooling or heating requirements in a number of separate spaces. VRF/VRV systems can enable the heat absorbed from one space to be used to heat another area rather than being expelled to the atmosphere. This is known as heat-recovery and enables VRF/VRV air conditioning to be highly energy efficient.

If you’re still not sure which air conditioning system is right for you, don’t worry. Call us now on 1-817 690 4517 for free, friendly, expert advice.