How to choose an air conditioner?

Air conditioning - an air conditioning device - works on the same scheme as a conventional refrigerator. Him the action is based on the laws of thermodynamics.

In the air conditioner, as well as in the refrigerator, special liquid-tight copper or aluminum pipes (refrigerant circuit) circulate the liquid - refrigerant. The boiling point of this liquid is very small - only about 10 ° C. When boiling, the liquid turns into steam and absorbs heat from the environment.

The cooled air is fed to a cooled room by means of a fan, and the vapor refrigerant is fed to the compressor, where, under the influence of pressure, it heats up to 50-60 ° C.

Then, passing through the condenser, blown atThe help of another fan, the coolant releases heat into the environment, and passing through a thin capillary tube, it cools down and turns into a liquid. After that, the entire cycle is repeated. The condensate produced during operation of the air conditioner is drained through the drainage tube.

If you "swap" the evaporator and condenser of the air conditioner, then the process turns out to be the opposite - the air conditioner will heat incoming air and give to the external environment chilled. This scheme of operation of air conditioners is called "Heat pump" - it has found its use in heating the premises in the off-season.

Without removing heat, the operation of the air conditioner is not possible, and if the window is very hot, then the heat output practically does not occur and the conditioner has to work in an enhanced mode, which in the future can lead to breakage.

Do not turn on the air conditioner and at too low temperatures. In this case, the refrigerant does not have time to completely transfer to the gaseous phase and possibly to get liquid into the cavity of the compressor. This also leads to damage to the air conditioner.

therefore the operating temperature range for the air conditioner is from + 17 ° C to + 28 ° C indoors and from +5 ° C to + 43 ° C on the street, depending on the model of the air conditioner. Air conditioners - "heat pumps" can work "on heat" at temperatures of outside air from -15 ° С to + 21 ° С.

As a coolant in air conditioners are used freons (chlorofluorocarbons), the most commonly used of them are freons R-22, R-410A, R-407C. Freon R-410A and R-407C are ozone-friendly, since their ozone-depleting potential is zero. The ozone-depleting potential of R-22 is 0.05.

On what refrigerant the air conditioner works on depends largely on the characteristics of the air conditioner. So, for freons R-410A and R-407C working pressurehigher in comparison with the "classic" R-22, so the strength of the details of the air conditioner operating on these freons are subject to increased requirements. Also for working with R-410A and R-407C, polyester and not mineral oil is needed, which complicates maintenance of the air conditioner.

How to choose an air conditioner?

Air conditioners are household, semi-industrial and industrial. Air conditioners for household needs, as a rule, are used window (monoblock) or wall (split-system). Monobloc air conditioners are installed on the windows, in the opening window. The entire "filling" is packed in one block. The "cooling" side "looks" inside the room, and the heat is removed from the outside.

Advantages of window air conditioners should include their compactness, low price. Window air conditioners are able to provide a small supply ventilation - up to 10% of the pumped volume of air.

A significant disadvantage of the window air conditioner is its increased noise during operation - in split systems, the noise generated by the indoor unit is much less.

Wall split systems - this, in the understanding of most consumers, andthere are real air-conditioners. In split systems there is an indoor and outdoor unit connected to each other. The indoor unit is located directly in the air-conditioned room - it supplies cooled air. The outdoor unit carries out heat and condensate removal.

As a subspecies of the split-system is allocated multi-split system - a system with one external and several indoor units. This system is used for conditioning adjacent areas.

When installing split and multisplit systems, inter-unit distance. The farther away from each other the inner and theoutdoor units, the higher the load on the air conditioner and the lower its power. The standard length of the inter-block route is 5 m, the maximum length is 15-20. If necessary, a semi-industrial system should be used to build a longer route.

The main consumer characteristics of the air conditioner are its power and noise level. "Refrigeration" capacity The air conditioner is measured in BTU - British thermal units, which are easily converted to conventional kilowatts. This power is three times greater than power consumption from the network. Therefore, if the cooling power is indicated at 2.5 kW, for example, it consumes only 800 watts of air conditioner. It can be plugged into a standard outlet.

The required cooling capacity when choosing an air conditioner is calculated using special formulas. However, as a rule, the instructions to the air conditioner indicate the area of ​​the room it is designed for. Therefore, it is enough to know the dimensions of the cooled room in order to choose the air conditioner of the required capacity.

Regular air conditioners have fixed power. In accordance with the readings of the temperature sensors, the compressor is switched on or off at the right moment, automatically maintaining the set temperature in the room.

This is not very convenient, because frequentStart / stop compressor leads to its rapid deterioration. If you turn on the compressor less often, the temperature of the supplied air will be 13-15 ° C lower than the room temperature. The presence of such cold air under the stream is fraught with catarrhal diseases.

The problem is solved inverter air conditioners, which have variable power. The compressor smoothly changes the speed of rotation, which avoids frequent compressor on / off cycles and increases the reliability of the air conditioner. In addition, inverter air conditioners are less noisy.

Noise level is an important characteristic of the air conditioner,if its installation is planned in a nursery, a bedroom, a private office or other quiet premises. Monotonous noise generated by the operation of the air conditioner may interfere with a comfortable stay in such rooms.

The noise level of domestic air conditioners ranged from 26-36 dB for the indoor unit and 38-54 dB for the outdoor unit. The characteristic gurgling, click of the air conditioner is not a sign of a malfunction. These sounds are just normal maintenance of the air conditioner.

Options such as availability functions of heating, cleaning, dehumidification, air ionization, air flow control are optional and are selected based on individual needs and preferences.

I must say, popular function "ventilation", present in many air conditioners, in spite ofwidespread misconception, does not provide for ventilation - the air conditioner in this mode works like a normal fan, without turning on the compressor.

Materials used in the manufacture of air conditioning, have a huge impact on the durability and quality of the air conditioner. So, substandard plastic of the external blockleads to early corrosion of this block under the influence of atmospheric precipitation, and too thin or poor-quality refrigeration circuit metal - to the formation of refrigerant leaks. Low-quality materials are used in low-cost models to reduce their cost.

Recognized as the leader in the production of quality air conditioners is Japan. Japanese air conditioners are one of the most expensive, butthey are reliable. Air conditioners are also produced by companies in China, Korea - mostly medium- and low-budget models. Whether to choose an expensive air conditioner or to stay on a cheaper model - everyone decides for themselves, the main thing is that the choice satisfies those needs for which an air conditioner is purchased.