How does ducted air conditioning work?

Ducted air conditioning provides quiet, uniform or zoned air conditioning that is perfect for cooling in summer or heating in winter. But how does ducted air conditioning work? The experts at NewAge not only provide one of the best ducted air conditioning services, but they have created this post to help you learn more about how ducted air conditioning works.

What is ducted air conditioning?

Ducted air conditioning, also known as central air conditioning, involves a central unit that treats air (i.e. cooling or heating) and then circulates this air through a system of air conditioning ducts throughout a home or building. Ducted air conditioning can uniformly distribute conditioned air, or it can be zoned to allow for different climates within a single home.

How does ducted air conditioning work?

Ducted air conditioners systems can cool, heat and dehumidify the air in your home or building giving you year-round climate control at the touch of a finger. Let’s dive into the details of how ducted air conditioning works.
Cooling

Much like split system air conditioning, ducted air conditioning is also contingent on refrigerants that cool or heat air to help you control the climate in your home. As the refrigerant changes between liquid and gas, and vice-versa, it changes temperature affecting the air around it. This ‘conditions’ the air to cool or heat it accordingly.

When cooling, warm air is absorbed from your home by an evaporator within the indoor unit of your ducted air conditioning system. The refrigerant stored in the evaporator is a cold liquid and as the warm air passes over it, the air is cooled and then distributed throughout the air conditioning ducts of your home.

As the refrigerant absorbs heat it is turned into a gas. The outdoor unit compressor pressurises the refrigerant back into a liquid and the refrigerant flows through a condenser. The liquid undergoes depressurisation and cooling before returning back to the evaporator again.
Heating

With reverse-cycle ducted-air conditioning, a flick of a switch means the reverse of the cooling operation occurs within your home or building. The process can be a little more complex, however the same principles apply as in cooling but in reverse.