That's enough high-pressure for anyone, so let's move on to the low-pressure side of the system. If the water is allowed to remain and possibly form ice crystals, it can damage the air conditioning system. (They're usually labeled "Do not eat.") In the receiver-dryer, they remove any water that has entered the system. You've seen packets of desiccants in shoeboxes, where they do the same thing: attract water from the air to keep new shoes fresh and ready for your feet. This receiver-dryer contains desiccants, small granules that attract water. As it moves out of the condenser, the liquid goes through a little reservoir installed in the line. Receiver-Dryer: But first, the refrigerant needs to be prepped for the evaporator. The liquid refrigerant is now a high-pressure liquid and nearly ready to cool the car. Imagine steam cooling down and condensing back into water, and you've got the idea. The process of pressurizing the gas and moving it to the condenser creates heat, but air flowing around the twisting tubes of the condenser cool the refrigerant down until it forms a liquid again. The refrigerant enters the condenser as a pressurized gas from the compressor. Let's take a look at each.Ĭondenser: The condenser is basically a radiator, and it serves the same purpose as the one in your car: to radiate heat out of the system. There are three main parts to the system - the compressor, condenser, and evaporator - that achieve this, plus a few other parts to keep the system running smoothly. Now, any car older than that needs to be retrofitted with a new system that can use the newer, safer refrigerant.Īir conditioning has worked pretty much the same way for its entire existence: it cools and removes humidity from the air. It was banned from being manufactured in the United States and an alternative, called R-134a or HFC-134a, was required for all cars manufactured after 1996. That's not including the aftermarket AC units that could be installed during the first heat wave of the year, when the new owner regretted his penny-pinching at the dealership in January.Įventually, it was determined that the refrigerant used for decades in automotive AC, known as R-12, CFC-12, or its brand name Freon, was damaging the ozone layer (it's a chlorofluorocarbon). The idea caught on, though, and by 1969, more than half of all new cars were sold with air conditioning built in. Of course, this early system didn't have a thermostat, but it was better than not having anything at all. Packard invented automotive AC all the way back in 1939, and in 1940 was the first car company to offer factory-installed air conditioning. It's also been with us longer than you might think.
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