Basic Principles of Refrigeration

May 21, 2007

LeoA.Meyer

If you are like most of us in the HVAC industry, you are a hands-on person - you dont want to mess with a
lot of theory, but just get in and get the job done. But a refrigeration system is different from most of our
work. Unless you understand the basic principles covered in this article, you will never understand
refrigeration. The refrigeration process operates on scienti c principles that are applied to practical
mechanical processes.

SAFETY
It doesnt make much sense to learn about refrigeration if youre going to get yourself killed or so injured
that you cant work on it or anything else - or if you endanger others. When you work around the
refrigeration system - or any part of the HVAC system - remember these principles:

You are dealing with electricity, heat, pressures, and possibly toxic gases. Dont start or stop equipment,
touch tubing, adjust valves, or open lines unless you really know what you are doing.

Almost all HVAC equipment operates automatically - it can start at any time. Always be aware of this.

If you are working around any powered equipment, lock out and tag out the switch to be absolutely
certain that the power is off and cannot be turned on by anyone but you:

- Turn off the main disconnect switch to the equipment.

- Lock the switch with your padlock and tag it with your name and the date.
- Even though you have switched off the equipment, test the circuit to be sure the power is off. Sometimes
strange things happen with the wiring of electrical circuits.

Never attempt to service any refrigeration system unless you are quali ed and certi ed. The high side of
the refrigeration cycle can be very hot, and you can be burned if you touch any uninsulated parts. Opening
a system can be very dangerous because it can freeze your skin. In addition, some refrigerants are harmful
to the atmosphere, so it is illegal to release them. You must not handle them unless you have passed a
certi cation test.

TEMPERATURE
Fahrenheit and Celsius Scales
Temperature is a measure of the degree of heat contained in a substance. Canada and almost every other
country except the United States use the Celsius (C) temperature scale. In the United States, Fahrenheit
(F) is still the of cial temperature scale, but more and more, you see both F and C given together.
Eventually, the United States will convert to the metric system and use the Celsius (C) scale.

Even though I have grown up with the Fahrenheit scale and know what the temperatures feel like, I have to
admit that the Celsius scale makes a lot more sense. In the Celsius scale, water freezes at 0C and boils at
100C. Theres logic to that. In the Fahrenheit scale, water freezes at 32F and boils at 212F. Theres no
logic to that. If you work with the Celsius scale, you will soon learn that you are comfortable at 20C and
feel too hot at 30C. The Celsius and Fahrenheit scales are shown in Figure 1. The table below compares
some common temperatures:

Usually you will work in either C units or F units and there is no need to convert. If you are in situations
where you need to convert, the simplest way is to carry a conversion chart in your toolbox for the normal
range of temperatures. You can also record these equations in your notebook:
Figure 1. Compare the Celsius scale with the Fahrenheit scale. (Click on the image for an enlarged view.)

To change Celsius to Fahrenheit:

F = (1.8 x C) + 32

To change Fahrenheit to Celsius:

C = 0.56 x (F 32)

For example, what is the temperature in Fahrenheit if the room temperature is 21C?

F = (1.8 x C) + 32

F = (1.8 x 21C) + 32

F = 69.8

What is the temperature in Celsius if the room temperature is 78F?

C = 0.56 x (F - 32)

C = 0.56 x (78F - 32)

C = 25.8

Figure 2. The Kelvin scale and Rankine scale are used for scienti c and engineering work. (Click on the
image for an enlarged view.)

Kelvin and Rankine Scales

You may hear references to the Rankine and the Kelvin temperature scales, so we mention them here.
About all you need to know about them is that they are used in scienti c and engineering work.
Both of these scales have absolute zero as their minimum point. Absolute zero is the theoretical
temperature at which a substance would contain no heat and the molecular particles in the substance are
not moving. In theory, thats as low a temperature as can be reached. The Kelvin scale uses the same
graduations as the Celsius scale. The Rankine scale uses the Fahrenheit graduations (Figure 2).

Ambient Temperature
You will hear the term ambient air or ambient temperature, such as, the ambient temperature should not
exceed 104F (40C). In HVAC work it means the temperature of the air surrounding the equipment.

HUMIDITY
Humidity is the amount of moisture in the air. In air conditioning we are concerned with the relative
humidity of the air. Relative humidity (rh) is the percent of moisture in the air as compared to 100 percent
of the moisture that air at that temperature can hold:

An air measurement of 70F, 50 percent rh means that the air contains 50 percent of the moisture that
the air is capable of holding at 70F.

The amount of moisture that air can hold varies with the temperature. The warmer the air is, the more
moisture it can hold. For example, suppose that air at 60F has an rh of 50 percent. If the temperature rises
to 80F, the rh will decrease to 27 percent. The relative humidity has gone down, but the amount of
moisture in the air remains the same.

Relative humidity is as important as temperature in creating comfort conditions in air conditioning.

Generally, people feel more comfortable in a range of 40 percent to 50 percent rh.

HEAT
Above absolute zero, every substance contains some heat. Things that feel cold still contain heat. Its just
that the amount of heat they hold (as measured by temperature) is less than the temperature of our body.
For example, ice contains some heat - but it contains less heat than the same amount of water.

The unit of heat used in the United States is the British thermal unit (Btu). The unit of heat in the metric
system is the joule, or the kilojoule (kj), which is 1,000 joules:

A Btu is the heat that will raise the temperature of one pound of water 1F. It is roughly equal to the heat
you would get by totally burning a wooden match.

A kilojoule is the rough equivalent of one Btu. To be more exact, one Btu is 1.055 kj.
You may want to remember these equivalents:

1 Btu = about 1kj = Heat needed to raise 1 lb. of water 1F = About the heat of burning one wooden
match.

The capacity of refrigeration units is often rated in tons. For example, a chiller for a medium-size
commercial building might be rated at 200 tons. The term tons of refrigeration is also used to refer to the
cooling load on a room or building. One ton of refrigeration is the amount of latent heat absorbed when
one ton of ice at 32F melts to water at 32F during 24 hours. (Latent heat is explained later in this article.)
One ton of refrigeration equals 12,000 Btu per hour (Btuh).

Delta T, T
The difference between two temperatures is called the T, pronounced delta T. A technician might take
the air temperature on the upstream and downstream sides of a cooling coil. The difference between the
two temperatures is the T.

HEAT FLOW
There is a saying, Heat ows downhill. This means that heat always ows from a warmer to a cooler
solid, liquid, or gas. The greater the T, the faster the heat ow. Heat ow is a basic principle of
refrigeration - in fact, of all HVAC work. For example, in the refrigeration cycle, the evaporator (cooling
coil) is colder than the air owing around it, so heat ows from the warmer air into the evaporator. The
air-cooled condenser in the cycle is hotter than the ambient air, so heat ows from the hot condenser to
the cooler ambient air.

HEAT TRANSFER
We just talked about heat ow. Heat transfer is the method by which heat ows. This is another basic
principle of refrigeration. The evaporator transfers heat into the refrigerant; the refrigerant transfers this
heat to the condenser; the condenser transfers the heat to a cooling medium (such as water or outside air).

Heat is transferred by:

Conduction

Convection

Radiation

Conduction
Conduction is the ow of heat through a substance by contact of particles. If you hold one end of an iron
bar and heat the other end with a torch, soon the end you are holding will become too hot to hold. This is
because heat has transferred from one end of the bar to the other by conduction. Heat from hot refrigerant
transfers by conduction through the metal of a condenser coil to the outside of the coil.

Conductivity is the ability of a substance to transfer heat by conduction. We are concerned here with heat,
but you should know that conductivity also means the ability of a substance to carry an electric current. A
material with high conductivity transfers heat well. Copper is used in the parts of a refrigeration unit that
transfer heat because it has high conductivity. Insulation has low conductivity because it resists the ow of
heat.

Convection
Convection is basically the transfer of heat by movement of a gas or a liquid. The heat that travels through
the walls of a condenser coil by conduction is carried into the air by convection. The heat from HVAC
supply air that is delivered into a room through an air outlet moves throughout the room by convection,
moving on air currents.

Radiation
Radiation is the transfer of heat by electromagnetic energy. The rays from the sun turn into heat when
they strike an object that they cannot pass through. On a sunny day, any metal exposed to the sun will
become hot to the touch because of heat transfer by radiation.

Heat Transfer in HVAC Work

An HVAC system uses all three methods of heat transfer in many ways. For example:

On a sunny day, the suns rays heat the outside of a building by radiation.

This heat ows through the walls of the building by conduction to the interior surface of the outside wall.

The heat from the wall is transferred to the air in the building by convection.

SPECIFICS
When you see the word speci c in terms like speci c heat, speci c volume, and speci c gravity, you know
that it is a means of comparing values to a standard.
Speci c Heat
The speci c heat of a substance is the heat required to raise one pound of the substance 1F. The speci c
heat of water is 1. This means that 1 Btu will raise the temperature of one pound of water 1F.

The speci c heat of liquid R-134a refrigerant is 0.34. This means that only 0.34 Btu is required to raise the
temperature of one pound of R-134a refrigerant 1F. The speci c heat of standard air is 0.24 Btu per pound
per degree Fahrenheit.

In the metric system, speci c heat is stated as the amount of heat that must be added to one kilogram of
the substance to raise the temperature 1K (Kelvin). The speci c heat of water is 4.187 kj/kg K (kilajoules
per kilogram, Kelvin).

Speci c Volume
The speci c volume of a gas is the volume in cubic feet of one pound of a gas at standard conditions (70F
at 14.7 psi). Compare the speci c volumes of the following three gases:

These values show that hydrogen is much lighter than air and that carbon dioxide is heavier than air.

Speci c volume in the metric system is the volume in cubic millimeters of one kilogram of the gas at
standard conditions.

Speci c Gravity
Speci c gravity is the ratio of the weight of a liquid or solid as compared to an equal volume of water. The
speci c gravity of water is 1. Any solid or liquid that has a speci c gravity of less than 1 will oat on water.
Compare the speci c gravities of the following three substances:

These gures show that gasoline is lighter than water so it will oat on water. Muriatic acid is heavier than
water so it will sink to the bottom of a container of water.

PRESSURE
To understand the refrigeration cycle, you must understand pressure and the terms used with pressure. In
the HVAC industry, pressure is measured in three ways:

psi - pounds per square inch

 inches Hg - inches of mercury

inches wg - inches water gauge

Pounds Per Square Inch - psi

You know the term psi (pounds per square inch) because you encounter it daily. Its the pressure you
measure for the air in your car tires. The same unit is used to measure the pressure of the air around us.
The air above us has weight. At sea level, the weight of the air exerts a pressure of 14.7 psi. This is called
atmospheric pressure.

Figure 3. Simpli ed mercury barometer. (Click on the image for an enlarged view.)

Inches of Mercury - Inches Hg

Inches of mercury (inches Hg) is used to measure small amounts of pressure, especially negative pressures.
It indicates how high a pressure will push mercury up in a tube. Figure 3 shows the principle:

An open vessel contains mercury.

A glass tube is inserted into the mercury. The bottom of the tube is open and the top is closed.

All of the air is evacuated from the tube to create a vacuum.

The atmospheric pressure at sea level will push the mercury up into the tube to 29.92 inches. This is the
same as the atmospheric pressure of 14.7 psi.

In refrigeration work, inches Hg (inches of mercury) is used to measure negative pressures, called
vacuums. A vacuum is a negative pressure (pressure below zero) and is indicated by the word vacuum, such
as, 4.5 inches Hg vacuum (or Hg vac). The principle of a negative pressure is shown in Figure 4:
Figure 4. Measuring negative pressure in inches Hg vacuum. (Click on the image for an enlarged view.)

Again an open vessel is lled with mercury.

The glass tube is open at the top and connected to a tank by a hose.

When a vacuum pump draws the air out of the tank, a negative pressure is created.

This negative pressure draws the mercury up into the tube. In Figure 3, the vacuum in the tank has
drawn the mercury up to the 4.5 inch mark, so the vacuum in the tank is read as 4.5 inches Hg vac.

Mercury is a hazardous material, so in daily practice, other gauges are used to determine negative
pressures. However, measurements are still indicated in inches Hg. A compound gauge can be used to
measure pressure greater than zero in psi as well as pressures less than zero in inches Hg vacuum.

Figure 5. U-tube to measure pressure in inches wg. (Click on the image for an enlarged view.)

Inches Water Gauge - inches wg

Inches water gage (inches wg) can be used to measure small pressures. This measurement is used to
measure the pressures in air conditioning ducts. It uses the same principle as inches Hg. The method is
shown in Figure 5:

A tube in the air duct senses the pressure.

This pressure is connected to a U-shaped glass tube that is lled with water.

The pressure pushes the water higher on the open side.

The difference in height of the two water columns is the pressure in inches wg.
Comparison of Pressure Units
The three pressures are compared below:

Pascals Law
Pascals Law says that if you apply pressure to a uid (liquid or gas) in a con ned container, the uid will
apply the same pressure in all directions. This is why hydraulic systems work. Refrigeration systems also
operate on this principle. The refrigerant liquid and vapor ll the available space.

You will not need to use Pascals Law, but you should know what it refers to.

PRESSURES YOU NEED TO KNOW

Pressure is pressure - right? WRONG! You will be dealing with three different pressure measurements.

Atmospheric pressure

Gauge pressure (psig)

Absolute pressure (psia)

Atmospheric Pressure
Atmospheric pressure is the pressure placed on us by the atmosphere. Air has weight, and at sea level, the
weight of the air above us results in a pressure on us of 14.7 psi (or 29.92 inches Hg).

Elevation affects atmospheric pressure. As we go higher above sea level, there is less air above us and
therefore less pressure. At 5,000 feet elevation, atmospheric pressure is 12.23 psi (compared to 14.7 psi at
sea level).

Temperature also affects atmospheric pressure. As air heats up, it expands and therefore weighs less. (That
is why hot air tends to rise.)

Standard air is dry air at sea level with a temperature of 70F. It has a pressure of 14.7 psi. For air
conditioning calculations, the value of standard air is used for altitudes up to 2,000 ft. and for
temperatures between 40F and 100F.
Variations in pressure are important for refrigeration work. Refrigerant changes state (boils) at a lower
temperature when it is at a higher elevation which has less atmospheric pressure.

Gauge Pressure
The pressure you see on gauges is the pressure above or below atmospheric pressure. Gauge pressure is the
pressure in a system (apart from atmospheric pressure). It can be indicated by the term psig (pounds per
square inch gauge). In other words, 100 psig is 100 psi greater than atmospheric pressure.

The pressure reading for a gauge is generally given as psi, although it is understood that it means psig
(gauge pressure).

Absolute Pressure
Absolute pressure is gauge pressure plus atmospheric pressure. It is indicated by the term psia (pounds per
square inch absolute). A gauge pressure of 100 psig is the same as 114.7 psia (100 psi + 14.7 psi
atmospheric pressure).

PRESSURE AND TEMPERATURE

A change in pressure affects the temperature at which a liquid changes state (boils or condenses). The
pressure-temperature relationship is an important principle for refrigeration.

As pressure decreases, the change-of-state temperature also decreases. For example, at sea level, water
boils at 212F. At 5,000 feet, water boils at 202F. This principle is applied in the refrigeration system:

When the pressure is increased, refrigerant condenses or boils at a higher temperature.

When the pressure is decreased, the refrigerant condenses or boils at a lower temperature.

The relationship between pressure and temperature allows the refrigeration system to make use of the
latent heat absorbed or released by a change of state.

LATENT HEAT
There are three states of a substance:

Solid

Liquid
 Gas

For example, the three states of water are:

Solid - Ice

Liquid - Water

Gas - Steam or vapor

The term vapor can mean the same as gas, or it can mean a gas with droplets of liquid suspended in it (also
called wet vapor). The term vapor is used with refrigerants in the refrigeration cycle.

Figure 6. Latent heat for water. (Click on the image for an enlarged view.)

Sensible heat is the heat we can feel (sense).

Latent heat is the heat released or absorbed by a substance when it changes state, with no change in
temperature. For example:

When steam at 212F condenses to water, 970 Btu/lb is released.

When water at 212F boils to steam, 970 Btu/lb is absorbed.

If a pound of water is heated to 212F, it will start to turn to steam. The temperature of the steam will be
the same as the water - 212F. When the entire pound of water has evaporated to steam, it will contain an
additional 970 Btu. If you let the steam cool, it will condense back to water and it will have released 970
Btu/lb.

When ice changes to water or water changes to ice, a latent heat of 144 Btu/lb is absorbed or released by
the same process:

When water at 32F changes to ice at 32F, 144 Btu/lb is removed.

 When ice at 32 changes to water at 32, 144 Btu/lb is added.

Figure 7. Types of latent heat. (Click on the image for an enlarged view.)

Figure 6 shows these different latent heat values for water. The latent heat added or removed to make a
change of state has speci c names, as shown in Figure 7. The important ones for refrigeration are:

Latent heat of vaporization

Latent heat of condensation

Latent heat is the basis of refrigeration, because it means that relatively large amounts of heat can be
transferred using relatively small changes in temperature.

Each substance has different latent heat values. For example, compare the latent heat of vaporization for
water and Refrigerant R-134a:

The refrigerants (such as R-134a) have a lower amount of latent heat of vaporization than water. However,
in the refrigerants the change of state occurs at a lower temperature and higher pressure. That is why they
are used for the refrigeration process.

HEAT OF COMPRESSION
When a gas is compressed, the energy used to compress it is turned into sensible heat and is absorbed by
the gas. This is the heat of compression. In the refrigeration cycle, the compressor adds pressure to the
low-pressure refrigerant vapor that comes from the evaporator. This adds the heat of compression to the
refrigerant, and this heat is transferred from the refrigerant into the air by the condenser.

ENTHALPY
For all practical purposes, enthalpy is the total heat content of a substance:
 The enthalpy of a liquid = the sensible heat at that temperature.

The enthalpy of a vapor = the sensible heat plus the latent heat that was required to form the vapor at
that temperature.

Engineers use enthalpy in design work, but it is not used in the eld.

Excerpted and reprinted from Refrigeration for HVAC Technicians by Leo A. Meyer, one of the books in the
Indoor Environment Technicians Library series published by LAMA Books.

Publication date: 05/21/2007

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For over 30 years, Leo A. Meyer has written and published
training materials for the HVAC industry. His books cover a
wide range of topics, including heating and cooling, indoor air
quality, sheet metal work, electricity basics, safety, and others.
For more information, visit www.lamabooks.com.

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