How Automotive Air Conditioning Works

Last updated 1 year ago

There are many components that contribute to the functioning of your vehicle’s air conditioning system. To get a firm understanding of how a car’s air conditioner works and how you can maintain or replace it, read the following:

Compressor
Just like your home HVAC system, your car’s air conditioner has a compressor. The one in your car compresses a refrigerant gas, such as Freon, and is driven by the engine. Because the process of gas compression generates a lot of heat, the hot gas is sent from the compressor to the condenser in order to lower its temperature.

Condenser
This component of your car’s air conditioner separates the heat from the Freon gas. The Freon is then condensed into a cool liquid and sent to the receiver in order to ensure that only cool liquid moves on to the next process.

Thermostatic Expansion Valve
Thanks to this component, your car’s air conditioner is able to adjust the amount of liquid that enters the evaporator of your air conditioner. This affects the level of cool air that you receive in the cabin.

Evaporator
Similar to the condenser, this component takes Freon from the expansion valve and passes it through your car’s cabin in tubes. As this happens, the refrigerant absorbs heat from the air that’s in your car’s cabin. To aid the evaporator, your car’s air conditioner is equipped with a fan that blows the cooler air throughout the cabin.

The air conditioner in your car is constantly working to both remove hot air and distribute cool air inside the cabin. When your air conditioner is on, the compressor constantly draws in air from the cabin in order to start another refrigeration cycle.

If one of the above components of your car’s air conditioner begins to wear out, you might experience insufficient cooling or even no cool air at all. For quality automotive air conditioning maintenance, come to Brake Specialists Plus in Austin. Call us at (512) 795-4066 for more information.