Air Conditioner

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 Content

• This module would covers the following:

 A/C: Components & functions (Slides 3 to 22)

 A/C Preventive Maintenance (23 to 30)

 Leak detection method (Slides 32 to 35_

 Do’s & Don’ts for A/C (Slides 36 to 38

 Root cause analysis for AC troubles. Slide 39

 AC trouble shooting action plan. Slide 40

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 Air-Conditioning

Air-conditioning does the following -

Controls Temperature of air

Controls Humidity of air to a certain

extent

Maintains Cleanliness of air by filtering

dust particles

Maintains Circulation Of Air in shelter

so that hot-spots are avoided

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 Air Conditioner
Components & functioning

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Air Conditioning system: Basic functioning
This diagram shows the various components of an A/C.
Lets see how the A/C functions.

Compressor

Evaporator

Cold air Warm Ambient air Warm air

air

Blower Fan
Condenser
Filter
drier

Expansion Valve

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Air Conditioning system: Basic functioning…. Contd.
This black line is a closed circuit made of copper tube.
This is called “Refrigerant Circuit”.

Refrigerant ckt is filled with a “Refrigerant” which in our case is a gas called r-22.

The arrows shown on this ckt show the direction of flow of refrigerant in this ckt.

Evaporator Compressor

Cold air Warm Ambient air Warm air

air

Blower Fan
Condenser
Expansion Valve
Filter
drier
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Air Conditioning system: Basic functioning…. Contd.
Compressor, when started, pushes the refrigerant from “low pressure” side of
the ckt to the “high pressure” side of the ckt.

That means, the work of the compressor is to MOVE the refrigerant in the ckt
(The direction of flow is shown by the arrows).

Low pressure gas Refrigerant High pressure gas Refrigerant

Evaporator Compressor

Cold air Warm Ambient air Warm air

air

Blower Fan
Condenser
Expansion Valve
Filter
drier
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Air Conditioning system: Basic functioning…. Contd.
•Refrigerant leaving the compressor as a high pressure gas, enters the Condenser.
•Condenser is a combination of a fan & a cooling-coil and its located in the
outside/ambient air.
•Cooling-coil is a long length of ckt tubing formed as a compact mesh, as shown in photo
below, to aid heat-transfer.
•Purpose of condenser is to reduce the temperature of refrigerant, using the ambient
air, without reducing its pressure.
•In this process, refrigerant is also converted from gas to liquid (it condenses). Hence this
component of A/C is called Condenser.
Low pressure gas Refrigerant High pressure gas Refrigerant
Condenser
Evaporator Compressor

Cold air Warm Ambient air Warm air

air

Blower Fan
Expansion Valve
Filter
drier High pressure liquid Refrigerant
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Air Conditioning system: Basic functioning…. Contd.
•After the condenser, high pressure liquid refrigerant goes through a Filter-drier which
filters moisture & particulate matter thereby cleaning the refrigerant.
•From filter-drier the refrigerant enters an Expansion Valve.
•Expansion valve expands the refrigerant thereby dropping its pressure instantly &
drastically.
•This sudden & huge drop in pressure reduces the refrigerant’s temperature also
drastically. This is where cooling is generated in an A/C.

Low pressure gas Refrigerant High pressure gas Refrigerant

Evaporator Compressor

Cold air Warm Ambient air Warm air

air

Blower Fan
Condenser
Expansion Valve
Filter
drier High pressure liquid Refrigerant
Low pressure liquid Refrigerant
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 Air Conditioning system: Basic functioning…. Contd.
•Immediately after coming out of Expansion Valve, the chilled & low pressure liquid
refrigerant enter the Evaporator.
•Evaporator, similar to condenser, is a combination of a blower & a cooling-coil.
•Evaporator is located in the air which is to be cooled (that is the air in the shelter).
•Blower pulls the air to be cooled & then pushes it through the cooling coil in which
chilled refrigerant is flowing. By this the heat from the air is transferred to the refrigerant
& the air cools. On the other hand, refrigerants gains heat & converts into gas (that is, it
evaporates); hence this component of A/C is called Evaporator.
Low pressure gas Refrigerant High pressure gas Refrigerant

Evaporator Compressor

Shelter
space Ambient air
Cold air Warm Warm air
to be air
cooled

Blower Fan
Condenser
Expansion Valve
Filter
drier High pressure liquid Refrigerant
Low pressure liquid Refrigerant 10
 Air Conditioning system: Basic functioning…. Contd.
•Low pressure gas refrigerant coming out of Evaporator re-enters the Compressor and the
cycle continues.

•With the understanding of this cycle we can say that –

• Till the refrigerant keeps flowing (that is, till compressor is ON) we get cooling.
• If refrigerant stops flowing (that is, when compressor is OFF) we do not get cooling.

Low pressure gas Refrigerant High pressure gas Refrigerant

Evaporator Compressor

Shelter
space Ambient air
Cold air Warm Warm air
to be air
cooled

Blower Fan
Condenser
Expansion Valve
Filter
drier High pressure liquid Refrigerant
Low pressure liquid Refrigerant
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Function of components in detail: Compressor

 The compressor is the heart of the

system; it keeps the refrigerant flowing
through the system at specific rates of
flow, and at specific pressures.

 It takes refrigerant vapor in from the low

pressure side of the circuit, and
discharges it at a much higher pressure
into the high pressure side of the circuit.

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Function of components in detail: Compressor
….Contd.
 The rate of flow through the system will
depend on the rating & design of the
unit.

 Operating pressures will depend on the

refrigerant being used and the desired
evaporator temperature

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Function of components in detail: Condenser

Most air conditioning systems are designed

so that the refrigerant will condense at a
temperature about 15 to 20 degrees above
outside ambient air temperature.

When the hot refrigerant vapor discharged

from the compressor travels through the
condenser, the ambient air flowing through
the condenser coil absorbs enough heat
from the vapor to cause it to condense.

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Function of components in detail: Condenser ….Contd.

The system is designed so that the temperature of the refrigerant, right

at the point where it first condenses, will be about 50 to 54°C; so that
even if the outside air temperature is 35°C, condensing shall occur.

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Function of components in detail: Expansion device

It is the dividing point between the high pressure

and low pressure sides of the system, and is
designed to maintain a specific rate of flow of
refrigerant into the low side of the system

Expansion device & Evaporator are very near to

each other & refrigerant coming out of Expansion
device directly enters the Evaporator.

If wrong capacity of expansion device is used, or if

there is a problem with expansion device, an
incorrect quantity of refrigerant will flow into the
evaporator and shall lead to less cooling.

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Function of components in detail: Expansion device …Contd.

When the refrigerant passes through the

expansion device, it drops from about 225 psi to
about 70 psi, it also drops in temperature from
about 45°C to about 4°C.

It starts evaporating immediately, and it

wouldn't be too inaccurate to imagine it acting like
warm soda when you shake the bottle and pop
the top off.

It shoots out into evaporator foaming, bubbling

and boiling. As it's at low pressure, it boils at
about 4°C.

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Capillary Tube (a type of Expansion Device)

• This is the simplest form of expansion device

• This device has a fixed restriction usually in the form of a small-

bore tube

• The drop in pressure being determined by the length and diameter

of the tube

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Function of components in detail: Evaporator

The warm air of the shelter flows over the

evaporator coil at about 30-35°C.

The air conditioning system is designed so

that the refrigerant will evaporate in the
evaporator at a temperature of about 4
degrees, so that it will be cold compared to the
warm air flowing over it

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Function of components in detail: Evaporator
…Contd.
The system is designed so that the heat in the
warm air flowing over the evaporator will be
absorbed by the cold evaporating refrigerant

This cools the air flowing over the evaporator,

and is the reason cold air blows out of your air
conditioner

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Function of components in detail: Refrigerant

 Refrigerant is mainly determined by the required cooling

temperature.

 All conventional refrigerants are Chloro Fluoro Carbons (CFC).

Generally used refrigerants are -
r-11, r-12, r-21, r-22, and r-502.
Our A/Cs generally use r-22 (Freon).

 New generation of non-CFC refrigerants have also arrived.

r-134a, r-407a, r-407-c, r-410a are the new generation refrigerants
which are presently very costly & are used in high-end A/Cs only.

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Function of components in detail: Filter Drier
• The word desiccate means to dry out completely and a desiccant is a
material or substance that accomplishes the moisture removal

• At the heart of the Filter-drier is the desiccant held in its cylindrical

metal container.

• Moisture in the mechanical refrigeration cycle reduces the efficiency of

the A/C and also the life of A/C. Filter-drier removes moisture from the
refrigerant.

• Particulate contaminants in refrigerant reduce life of the A/C. Filter-

drier removes these particulate matter too.

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Preventive Maintenance

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Preventive Maintenance

• Preventive Maintenance is required to avoid sudden failures

• To keep unit efficiency intact.

– Air conditioner performance is based on efficiency of Heat Exchangers
(cooling coils in our case).
– Due to consistent air flow through heat exchangers (that is Condenser &
Evaporator coils) and air handling parts (that is condenser’s fan &
evaporator’s blower) dust layer gets collected over them.
– Due to dust layer over Coil fins, heat exchange efficiency get affected.
– Due to dust layer over fan & blower, there speed reduces thereby
reducing the efficiency of A/C.

This also increases the Condenser Head pressure which leads to excess
load on Compressor.
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Preventive Maintenance
• The load on the compressor in turn

– Increases power consumption

– leakage of refrigerant

– Failure of compressor

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Preventive Maintenance

• Periodicity - Monthly
• Check the performance of unit before proceeding to PMS
• Check Parameters

 Check Air filters

 Clean & wash the filters

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Check Controller settings

Check all the parameters of the Controller i.e., AC on temperature AC off temperature & others

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 Checking and cleaning of condenser coils

Clean the dust accumulated in the aluminum fins with blower or wire brush

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Check the Internal wiring of the Aircon

Check for tightness of the

Electrical wiring inside the box

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Monthly Preventive Maintenance Schedule- A/C
S. No. Check Points

1 Check & record AC-I load ampere

2 Check & Record AC-II load ampere
3 Check & record Compressor ON duration
4 Check for AC proper cooling
5 AC running in auto/manual
6 Temperature setting as per recommendation
7 Clean the Air Filter element & measure load current, compare with previous reading
8 Check Fan/ Blower Blades for any damage
9 Check for any leaks, damage, or blockage in air system
10 Check for temperature
11 Any abnormal noise from unit

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Trouble shooting

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Leak detection Method

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Leak Detection Methods

1. Soap test: in this dilute soap solution

is used & applied over the joint, if it is
a leak then soap bubbles appear on
the surface

2. Helium leak test: it is also a modern

testing method, where leakage is
either detected by using a probe or
the equipment is kept in chamber to
leak test.

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Leak Detection Methods

3. Nitrogen leak test: it is modern testing

method, where leaked gas is detected by a
probe. It is also called air under water test

Precautions: in case of nitrogen leak test, it is

necessary to use some clipping methods to
confined leaked gas at that point, so that the
accuracy in the method is maintained.

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Soap Testing
• After brazing leak testing must be done
• Don’t use system without leak testing
• For leak testing follow the below guidelines

Prepare soap solution

Apply the soap solution over brazed joints
Wait for 5 mins
Check if soap bubbles are forming or enlarging
If soap bubbles are not happening, then
brazing is leak proof, otherwise there is
leakage
If there is leakage, then braze again properly
and follow above guidelines again

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Do’s & Don’ts
for A/C

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Do’s for Air Conditioning

 Maintain constant voltage to Aircon's

 Maintain shelter room air tight

 Check for sealant to ensure no cooling loss through

machine opening

 Maintain clear air path around Condenser coil

 Sensors position to be maintained in installed position

 Maintain drain pipe without any blockages

 Maintain clean air filters

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Don’ts for Air Conditioning
 Do not allow obstacle in front of the supply as well as the
return air path

 Do not disturb sensors position

 Do not allow any heat source near the sensors

 Do not allow any blockage in drain hose

 Do not block airflow to condenser coil

 Do not have exhaust / heat source near outdoor

 Do not run A/C without controller for more than 10 hrs.

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 ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS FOR AC
SAIRCON_Trouble_Shooting.docx

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AC TROUBLE SHOOTING ACTION PLAN
AIRCON_Faults_and_Rectification.xlsx

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Thank You

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