Category: airconditioner

When considering how air is cooled in your home or in your car, the auto air conditioning compressor works exactly the same as the one in your house or office. Its job is to move hot air and humidity from an evaporator inside your vehicle to a condenser outside the vehicle by compressing gas inside the system. Without a properly functioning auto air conditioning compressor the cooling effects of the system is nullified.

Since the 1940 s people have been able to ride in comfort the same as they have had the comfort of air conditioning in their homes and in extremely hot and humid climates have been able to enjoy the effects of air conditioning seamlessly, except for short walks between their home and car, and from their car to work. However, if something goes wrong with the auto air conditioning compressor the transit will be much warmer.

The auto air conditioning compressor is essentially a pump with an intake side and a discharge side. On the intake side, refrigerant is pulled from the output of the evaporator coils located inside the vehicle. Inside the auto air conditioning compressor the gas is compressed and sent to the condenser on the outside of the vehicle, along with the heat and humidity drawn from the vehicle.

Newer Requirements Help Protect Environment

In the early days of air conditioning, the gases used in the system were considered dangerous and some, like propane had explosive potential. A gas referred to as R-12, known by its trade name of Freon, has been determined to cause damage to the Earth s ozone atmosphere. As a result, technicians have to be certified to work with it, or even buy it and in all cases when an air conditioning system is opened the gas must be captured through specialized equipment.

Whenever work is done on an auto air conditioning compressor it must be done by a certified technician and in cases where the compressor must be replaced, a newer upgraded model may be required. A newer gas R-134a is being required in all vehicles after 2010, and if the vehicle is going to have its system filled with the new gas it will also have to be retrofitted with a new auto air conditioning compressor that can produce the higher pressure needed for this gas.

Since the technician has to pay more for the expensive equipment and the gas repair costs are going to be higher as well. Car owners will need to make the decision about paying the cost to replace their auto air conditioning compressor, driving in the heat or perhaps replacing the vehicle.

In many parts of the country, traveling without auto air conditioning would be ill advised, and many of those with breathing problems would be confined to their homes. By being able to fit the three main components of auto air conditioning into even the smallest cars, travel has become much for comfortable. While in the beginning only those with sufficient financial resources and larger vehicles could afford air conditioning, today the smallest and least expensive cars are equipped with this technology.

Essentially, auto air conditioning consists of three components, the compressor, the evaporator and condenser. Working together, they use a gas that is easily transformed from liquid to gas and back again, to pull warmer air from inside the vehicle and replace it with much cooler air. Sometimes, drivers see a small puddle of water under their car and worry that something is wrong with the car or the auto air conditioning unit itself, but this water is a natural occurrence and is part of the evaporation process.

Typically, an auto air conditioning system will last the lifetime of the vehicle but occasionally it may require service and some vehicle owners are concerned about being told the truth about their system by unscrupulous mechanics. Repairing an auto air conditioning system can be costly and few home mechanics have the skills or specialized equipment to perform the repairs.

Gas Collection Requires Special Training And Equipment

Since the government determined that Freon, the gas commonly used in auto air conditioning systems is hazardous to the environment, technicians working on auto air conditioning units must be certified to work with Freon and expensive equipment is required to collect any Freon gas that may escape from the system. Cars made after 2010 must have systems equipped with Puron, a gas considered to be friendly to the Earth s ozone layer, and by 2020 there can be no Freon left in a vehicle s system.

A few offerings to check your auto air conditioning for a small price often leads to expensive unneeded repairs as some will take advantage of a person s fear of losing their air conditioner in the middle of a hot summer. A basic rule of thumb, is that if the air condition is still blowing out cold air, there is probably nothing wrong with it.

Freon gas used in an auto air conditioning also contains special oil to help keep the compressor lubricated and the most common problem is a loose or broken compressor belt. This can checked visually and in most cases changed by the car s owner.