The compressor is one of the most important parts of your air conditioning unit. Not only does the compressor play an important role in the cooling process, but it also ensures that the unit works effectively and continually. To understand how your Baltimore, Maryland, air conditioner compressor works, you should know about its location, function, maintenance, and repair needs. Once you do, you’ll understand the connection between your air conditioner’s compressor and regular HVAC system maintenance. The compressor can be found in the outdoor air conditioning unit, at the rear or on the side of your home. Other important parts within the outdoor unit include the condenser, condenser coil, and fan. The outdoor unit connects to the indoor part of your air conditioning system through a copper refrigerant tube. Once connected, these two parts work together to absorb hot air from inside your home and transform it into cool air. To understand how the compressor works, think about the cooling process for a split-system central air conditioner. 

The air conditioner pulls heat out of the air in your home, cools it over a set of cold pipes (an evaporator coil), and releases the cool air into your home. The evaporator coil remains cold thanks to a liquid refrigerant that absorbs hot air and changes it to gas. This gas is then transported outside to the condenser coil where the gas again becomes a liquid. From this point, the cycle continues. How does the compressor fit into the picture? The compressor is responsible for moving the refrigerant between the evaporator and condenser coils, ensuring that the refrigerant changes to gas or liquid as needed. You can think of the compressor as the heart of the air conditioning system and the refrigerant as the blood. To this end, the compressor pumps the refrigerant through the system to keep it alive and running properly. Maintaining the compressor is crucial for the overall functioning of the air conditioning unit. However, don’t attempt to maintain this part yourself. During a service appointment, your HVAC technician will check the compressor for any obvious damage or failure.

Your service tech may also check the compressor pads to make sure that the unit does not have any electrical problems which could affect the compressor. The compressor has many moving parts and is easily susceptible to breaks. If the compressor malfunctions for any reason, the result could be noises coming from the unit, insufficient cooling, or hard starts. Other consequences of a malfunctioning compressor include the outdoor unit running hot, the compressor burning out, and the air conditioning system not working at all. If you think you have a problem with your compressor, contact a Griffith Energy Services professional for help. If your compressor malfunctions, your repair options may be limited. Always contact your HVAC technician for any repair decisions. Sometimes what appears to be a broken compressor may actually be a malfunction elsewhere in the unit. Ask your service tech for more information. However, if the compressor is to blame, replacement may be your only option.

Depending on the problem’s severity and the system’s age, you may need to replace your HVAC system entirely. To keep your air conditioning system functioning properly, proper functioning of your air conditioning compressor is crucial. If you need air conditioning repair or maintenance on your compressor or any other part of your HVAC system, contact one of our helpful service professionals at Griffith Energy Services today at 888-721-5707.central air conditioning unit coverWhat is the function of an air conditioner?cost of hvac coil cleaning The basic functions of an air conditioner are:how to install ac unit in horizontal sliding window Maintaining the temperature to desired level. Humidity control inside the room (De-humidification).

The air conditioner attains the desired temperature according to the temperature set by its thermostat. The compressor in the air conditioner is turned on and remains on until the room temperature decreases to be the same as the temperature of the thermostat. Once the desired temperature is reached, the compressor turns off until the room temperature increases again. This turning on and turning off, of the compressor determines a cycle of the air conditioner. This concept is discussed in detail below. What is the cycle time of air conditioner? The cycle time of an air conditioner is the amount of time the unit runs to maintain the temperature of the room equal to the temperature setting of the thermostat. If the thermostat is set a very low temperature as compared to the room temperature, the compressor has to work for a longer time to decrease the room temperature, thus, increasing the cycle time. In other words, greater the temperature difference between the room temperature and thermostat temperature, greater will be the cycle time and vice versa.

What are the factors affected by cycle time? Power consumption: An air conditioner consumes a lot of power every time its compressor is turned on. This power is much greater than the power consumed by air conditioner for continuous operation (long cycles). Hence, it is not necessary that an air conditioner with short cycles consumes less power than one with long cycles. Humidity: An air conditioner’s comfort level depends on its humidity removal capability. This, capability improves as the cycle time increases. An air conditioner with frequent on off cycles cannot remove humidity from the room. Thus, long cycle time promotes humidity removal capability of an air conditioner. Usually, undersized air conditioners have much better humidity removal capability as compared to over-sized air conditioners, since the former have longer cycle times. Efficiency: As stated above, an air conditioner consumes a lot of power on start-up. Thus, frequent short cycles affect the efficiency of the air conditioner.

On the other hand, efficiency of air conditioner improves as it runs for more amount of time per cycle i.e. longer cycles. Comfort: An conditioner running for a longer times gradually changes the temperature of the room, thus, giving a gradual increase in the comfort level. However, if the air conditioner designed to meet the set temperatures quickly, leads to sudden variations (decrease) in the temperatures, leading to less comfort level. Also, shorter cycles do not facilitate efficient humidity removal, thus leading to less comfort in the room. Thus, short cycle times are not recommended in case of air conditioners. What should be the ideal size of the air conditioner and ideal cycle time? There is no specific ideal cycle time for air conditioner as it completely depends on its cooling capacity and the room temperature and humidity. Typically, 10-20 minutes on cycle time should be good enough depending on the surrounding conditions. Usually, since an over-sized air conditioner has greater cooling capacity, it runs shorter cycle.