What is the function of an air conditioner? The basic functions of an air conditioner are: 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. central ac units torontoHowever, if the air conditioner designed to meet the set temperatures quickly, leads to sudden variations (decrease) in the temperatures, leading to less comfort level. cleaning window unit air conditioner filtersAlso, shorter cycles do not facilitate efficient humidity removal, thus leading to less comfort in the room.how to get a hvac job with no experience

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. Thus, over-sizing an air conditioner is not advisable. At the same time, an undersized air conditioner may not be able to give the required amount of cooling and comfort. Hence, it is necessary to select the optimum size of the air conditioner to ensure an optimum cycle time. To summarize, very short cycle time and over-sizing the air conditioner should be avoided. Proper sizing and optimum cycle time are the key features to determine the effectiveness of an air conditioner to perform its functions.

Here is a short video for tips to reduce power consumption of air conditioner in IndiaWe hear Phoenix-area homeowners ask, “Why does my air conditioner keep tripping the breaker at the control panel?” First off, if this keeps happening then don’t turn the circuit back on. The circuit breaker’s job is to keep your home and appliances safe by shutting off the flow of electricity when the current flow gets too high. If it keeps tripping, something needs to be fixed. If the air conditioner is the source of the tripping, it may be overheating. When an air conditioner overheats, it draws more amps (a measurement of electrical current) from the circuit. That may be pushing the circuit past the number of amps it was meant to handle. So the breaker usually trips after the air conditioner has been running for awhile. So now we need to know what’s causing your air conditioner to overheat. 1) Dirty air filter: Dirt on the filter impedes air flow. This causes the AC to run longer to circulate enough cool air to achieve the temperature you want.

This then causes the air conditioner to overheat. Change the filter and see if that helps. 2) Dirty condenser coils: The condenser coils are in your air conditioner’s outside unit. Refrigerant runs through these coils. A fan blows over the coils to dissipate the heat that the refrigerant absorbed in your home. This is done so the refrigerant can flow back into the inside air conditioning unit and absorb more heat from your home’s air. (See how an air conditioner works exactly.) But if the condenser coils are covered in dust, dirt and leaves, then the coils can’t properly dissipate the heat. So the air conditioner has to work harder and longer to cool your home and overheats as a result. In the Phoenix area, it’s easy for air conditioners to get covered in dust after haboobs (dust storms). Learn more about why you need to clean your condenser coils. You could wash the coils off, or you could have a contractor do it professionally as part of a pre-season air conditioner maintenance visit / A/C tune-up.