How Air Conditioning Works

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Air conditioning is one of those luxuries that has become essential. When air conditioning first became available in automobiles it was available as an aftermarket luxury item reserved for the nicest of vehicles and wealthy passengers. Today you can hardly find a car that doesn’t have air conditioning installed even in the coldest parts of the country!

As we spend more and more time in our cars it has become more important to be comfortable while we drive. Summer road trips and winter holiday traveling can require lots of time in the car where you want to be comfortable so you can enjoy your trip and arrive refreshed. Also, as cars have gotten more comfortable and more capable, we’ve started driving even in bad weather. Cold or rainy weather requires you to be able to keep your windshield clear both on the inside and the outside. Having a good working air conditioning system can help keep the inside of your windshield clear of moisture and condensation which will allow better winter vision and keep you safely on the road no matter what kind of weather you’re driving through.

If you’re wondering how air conditioning works, you might be surprised that all of these conveniences are accomplished through a relatively simple system. The goal of your air conditioning system is to remove heat from the cabin of your vehicle and release it to the air outside of your vehicle. In order to accomplish this, you need some refrigerant, which is a special fluid designed to have certain properties at specific temperatures and pressures, a compressor to raise the pressure of the refrigerant, an expansion valve to lower the pressure of the refrigerant and 2 heat exchangers to transfer to heat out of your car and into the air.

The components in your air conditioning are simple and are designed to work with the specific refrigerant you use. The most common refrigerant used in cars today is R-134a. First, the Compressor raises the pressure and consequently the temperature of the fluid. Next, the condenser, a simple heat exchanger, lowers the temperature of the refrigerant back down to the temperature of the outside air while keeping the pressure high. The expansion valve works just the opposite of the compressor. It lowers the pressure and consequently the temperature of your refrigerant causing the cooling effect that your air condition system needs. The refrigerant then travels to the evaporator which works just like your condenser, except has the opposite effect since the refrigerant is now cool. The evaporator transfer the cooling to your cabin air keeping your comfortable and your windshield clear.

The refrigerant in your system is transferred to and from each component using high pressure hoses and pipes. Since all of these components are mounted in your vehicle, they’re subject to harsh weather conditions, temperature swings, chemicals from leaks and road grime, and vibrations. These vibrations and harsh conditions can lead to small leaks around the hose connections, the o-rings in your system, or even in the heat exchangers as they are relatively fragile components. These small leaks will allow some of your refrigerant to escape from the system lowering the pressure and causing problems. If your system pressure becomes too low, your compressor and expansion valve will not function properly causing a lack of cooling in your system.

Since most refrigerants are odorless gasses at room temperature it can be very difficult to detect a leak in your air conditioning system. In most cases, you find out you have a leak because your system isn’t working properly. The easiest way to stop a leak in your air conditioning system is to use BlueDevil Red Angel AC Stop Leak. BlueDevil Red Angel AC Stop Leak is a chemical sealant that will remain inert in your system until it reaches the extreme temperature change at a leak point. There it will be activated and form a chemical weld sealing your leak! Once you’ve got a sealed system you can add the proper amount of refrigerant and get back to being comfortable and safe with a great working air condition system!