We have seen that the majority of people have no issue with their heating and air conditioning systems as long as they can keep their homes warm during cold weather and cool during the hot summer months. However, when some issues arise, they really do not know how to solve them, mainly because of the complexity of the system’s configuration and the numerous components associated with it.
In this article, we will discuss the various components of an HVAC system and the ways and the extent to which they work together in controlling the temperatures, levels of humidity, and quality of air indoors within your home.
Key Parts of HVAC Systems
Just like a car possesses several substructures in combination form to propel it forward, HVAC systems possess sub-elements that ensure efficiency in controlling temperature and air quality. The main parts of the HVAC system include:
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Air Conditioner
An air conditioner in a commercial HVAC is very much like a residential HVAC system’s air conditioner. It is used to cool the air and to condense the moisture out of it. Remember that the air conditioner itself is not capable of cooling the building, it is only a part of a comprehensive system that includes numerous subsystems to regulate the temperature.
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Compressor
The primary component of the cooling cycle that starts the main ‘loop’ by which you can regulate temperatures is a compressor, like in the case of Carrier/Carlyle 06ET275360. It does this by compressing the refrigerant, hence increasing its temperature. The refrigerant is then taken to the condenser, where the cooling process can begin in earnest.
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Condenser
The condenser is the heat exchanger equipment acting as the hot side in an air conditioning system. It takes heat out of the building environment and expels it to the outside environment. Then gas refrigerant turns into liquid refrigerant. A heat pump may also have a condenser; usually, it is used to gather heat from the outside environment.
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Thermal Expansion Valve
The expansion valve plays a very important role in the condenser. It manages to lower the pressure of the liquid refrigerant in order to expand the substance from liquid into vapor form. The expansion valve on the system plays the role of the flow controller of the refrigerant into the evaporator coil.
The high-pressure liquid refrigerant is very warm at the time it first enters the expansion valve and a precision valve, which enhances the total efficiency of the system. A thermal expansion valve can be internal or external to the air handler, that is, screwed on the front of the evaporator coil or brazed to copper pipes that connect to the air handler.
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Air Handler (Consists of Evaporator Coil and Blower)
The air handler is the device that circulates the air through the system. In most structures, it is linked to ductwork. It takes cooler air into the building and exhales hot or warm air back into the system. It comprises a blower, heating as well as cooling components, and numerous other tools.
Among all the types of air-handling systems, the evaporator coil requires maintenance. The evaporator coil contains the cold refrigerant, which has been received from the compressor. The conditioned air, generated by the blower fan, comes over the coil and removes heat from the air in the treated space.
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Terminal Units
Terminal units are composed of a fan coil unit, air filter, cooling coil, and blower. Size varies significantly; in a typical commercial HVAC system, the most popular terminal units are the medium-sized Rooftop Terminal Units (RTUs) as compared to the largest Makeup Air Terminal Units (MTUs). They can be used to regulate temperatures in one particular area of a house or a single room.
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Chiller
Chillers are of different types, like air-cooled chillers and water-cooled chillers. They are used to cool the liquid that flows through the pipes of the structure. An air-cooled chiller has condenser coils that are cooled by air, and the chiller is normally located outside.
So, systems where critical cooling is required over a longer interval or set of hours constitute the use of water-cooled chillers. These are chilled by water that passes through a constant recirculation system. While it is circulating, the heated water is removed and cool water is supplied from an exterior cooling tower.
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Duct System
You may not often come across the duct system as an item of the HVAC in many articles. Ducts can indeed be very old, and in fact, the ducts might even be older than the HVAC system that you currently have in your home. But it should not be ignored as part of the system’s effectiveness since it circulates air throughout your structure.
Your duct system should therefore be clean and intact for the other parts of your HVAC system to function.
In old buildings, the ducts may be very skinny and are not able to meet the contemporary HVAC requirements and may get blocked without prior information. Annual cleaning of the ducts can assist you in increasing the other parts’ service life. Do not neglect to clean or replace filters as per the usage norms for the type of filter you use in your home.
The factors that have to be involved to make a commercial HVAC work include preventive action, making occasional adjustments to all aspects of components, and considering the overall conditions that the system operates in.
Ensure your HVAC system runs efficiently with expert maintenance and upgrades from Eddy Time Mechanical, Calgary’s trusted HVAC specialists.
Contact us today for reliable service!