If you are anything like me, you are fascinated by how things work. Personally, I could spend days taking something apart and analyzing it to see how it does what it does. I would take apart my HVAC if I had the confidence I could put it back together again. But that’s not happening, so I satisfy my curiosity by researching.
Recent research uncovered three interesting pieces of kit an HVAC system couldn’t do without. They are crucial to keeping a house comfortable all year long. Here they are:
1. The Heat Exchanger
A heat exchanger has but one job: transferring thermal energy. Think of thermal energy as heat. The exchanger’s job is to transfer heat from one substance to another. In most cases, it is transferred between air and a refrigerant or air and water.
Transferring heat allows an HVAC unit to heat your home in the winter and cool it in the summer. In the winter, you want heat energy from your furnace to be usable throughout your home. In the summer, you want to actually remove heat from the house. A heat exchanger makes it possible.
How It Works
When you are using your furnace, the heat exchanger transfers thermal energy from the heat producing component of your furnace to the surrounding air. Then the blower takes over to distribute that air throughout the house. When you’re using the AC, the heat exchanger absorbs thermal energy from the air and transfers it to a coolant that is circulated outside where the heat can be released.
Heat exchangers not only perform a critical role in keeping your house comfortable, but they also reduce energy consumption. Heating and cooling your home would not be the same without them.
2. The Evaporator Coil
An evaporator coil is an interior HVAC component required to keep your home cool in the summer. The experts at Utah’s Superior Water & Air describe the evaporator coil as a device that absorbs heat from the air with the use of some sort of refrigerant.
As warm air passes over the coil, the refrigerant inside begins to expand. This process pulls heat and moisture from the air. The refrigerant is then circulated outdoors where it contracts in cooler air to release the heat.
Superior says that evaporator coils are normally found inside an air handler or furnace. They can also be found within the duct work, just downstream of the blower fan. They should be easily accessible regardless of location should service ever be required.
3. The Condenser Coil
Where the evaporator coil is an interior component, the condenser coil is an exterior component. It is located outdoors, inside the HVAC unit itself. It performs the opposite function as well.
An evaporator coil also houses a refrigerant. In fact, it’s the same refrigerant that circulates through the evaporator coil. As that refrigerant reaches the condenser coil, it also changes temperature. Why? Because the temperature outside is cooler than the temperature inside.
As cooler air passes over the condenser coil, the refrigerant begins to contract. It releases heat as it does. Now the liquid circulates back into the house where it reaches the evaporator coil and begins the process all over again.
There Is a Lot of Science to It
When you start getting into the details of heat exchangers, evaporator coils, and condenser coils, you realize that there is a lot of science to keeping your home comfortable all year long. Your HVAC is designed to take advantage of the natural laws of physics to do what it does. Who knew?