Frequently Asked Questions

What exactly is Air Conditioning?

Air Conditioning refers to the treatment of air in any given space, generally by cooling, heating or adjusting the humidity of the air. Various systems are available to carry out these tasks.

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How does Air Conditioning work?

Air conditioning, using what is called the vapour compression cycle, uses the same principle as your refrigerator at home.

For an air conditioning unit to work, it requires 4 major components which are:

• Evaporator
• Condenser
• Expansion device
• Compressor

These four components are built into two units, one that is fitted in the indoor area (evaporator) and one that is installed outside (condenser). The two units are connected together with two insulated copper pipes and electrical wiring. Refrigerant is then pumped around the sealed system by the compressor. The refrigerant is fed through a metering device, which lowers the pressure before entering the evaporator, once in the evaporator it starts to evaporate as heat is absorbed. The superheated vapour is then pulled to compressor via the suction line where it is then compressed to a high temperature/pressure vapour. The vapour enters the condenser where it starts to condense back into a liquid, the heat absorbed from the evaporator is rejected at this point. The cycle then starts again and is repeated causing the cooling effect in the conditioned area.

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Can Air Conditioning provide heating as well as cooling?

Yes, when an Air Conditioning unit is selected, it is available in cooling only format or what is called a heat pump. When heating is requested, a valve in the outdoor unit opens which diverts the flow of high temperature refrigerant to the indoor unit providing the heating. Heat pumps are very common in this day and age and provide a more efficient way of heating than electrical or gas.

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Is Air Conditioning energy efficient?

Modern Air Conditioning systems are extremely energy efficient. For example a standard electric type heater will use 1 kW of energy for every 1 kW of heat produced, giving a ratio of 1:1. A heat pump will produce 2.5 – 3 kW for every 1 kW of energy produced, making the heat pump up to 3 times as energy efficient.

Another way of saving energy in Air Conditioning is to use an inverter driven compressor which most leading manufacturers are supplying. The way in which this works is to slow the speed of the compressor down to suit the load. This is done by electronic expansion valves, which relay information back to an inverter drive printed circuit board; this uses dc voltage instead of ac, which simultaneously uses two different types of torque producing a strong force from small electrical currents. Improvements of around 30% are significant.

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Can Air Conditioning be installed without huge amounts of disruption?

In most instances, when an Air Conditioning installation is carried out there will be a slight disruption to your working environment, however with years of experience we always ensure that the disruption is kept to an absolute minimum. All of our friendly and helpful staff will go out of their way to tidy up after themselves. We have been rewarded many times by our customers and this promotes a good footing for an ongoing good relationship, which we consider extremely important.

Occasionally, we are required to drill large holes in brickwork to feed pipes through. If this is the case, it is always discussed on the site survey and noisy work can be arranged through a program to suit the customers needs the best.

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Call us today on 01623 792056 or email us at info@ldms.org.uk.

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