Do Air Conditioners Bring in Fresh Air From Outside?

Do Air Conditioners Bring in Fresh Air From Outside?

As the weather outside starts to heat up, you're thinking about all the fun summer activities. If you're like most people, a necessary part of summer is having a nice, cool air-conditioned home. While you may know how to turn on your air conditioner, there may be many questions that you have about how it works.

Does My AC Unit Take in Fresh Air From Outside?

A common question that people have about air conditioners is if they take in fresh air from outside. The simple answer is that they don't. You do have outside components to your air conditioning system. But, there is no direct opening for air from the outside to enter your home. The air that you feel coming out of the vents inside of your home is air that was already inside of your home. That existing air has recirculated throughout your AC system.

How Does My Air Conditioner Work?

Another question that many people have about their air conditioner is how it cools the air. To start, the air inside of your home goes into a vent via your blower fan. This air travels to the indoor evaporator coil that has refrigerant inside of it. Refrigerant is a substance that absorbs heat that is inside of your home. As this air travels over your evaporator coil, the refrigerant will absorb the heat out of the air. It will also remove moisture from the air to reduce the humidity level.

This refrigerant turns from a liquid state to a gaseous state when it comes into contact with heat. It's then piped to the outdoor unit of your air conditioning system to the condenser coil. At this condenser coil, air flows over the coil, and the heat inside of the refrigerant goes outside of your home. The refrigerant will then turn from a gaseous state back to a liquid state. It will then go back into your home to go through the entire process again.

Why Does My AC Unit Need to Remove Humidity?

Many homeowners don't know that their air conditioners remove humidity from their homes. This can have you asking the follow-up question of why you need to remove excess humidity.

When you're exposed to high humidity levels, it makes it much harder for your body to cool down. This is because your body is unable to sweat as it would in fair weather conditions. When your body is unable to sweat, it's unable to cool you down. Having your air conditioner remove humidity keeps you comfortable in your home.

Call Us Today

If you're having trouble with your air conditioning system or looking to upgrade it, give us a call today. Our helpful HVAC technicians can answer all your air conditioning-related questions. We can make recommendations on the best air conditioning system to fit the needs of your home.