A split system air conditioner is designed to cool (and sometimes heat) indoor spaces by moving heat from inside your home to the outside. The name “split system” refers to the fact that the components of the air conditioner are separated into two main parts—an indoor unit and an outdoor unit—connected by refrigerant piping and electrical wiring. Here’s how it works step by step:
1. Indoor Unit (Evaporator Coil and Blower):
The indoor unit usually contains an evaporator coil and a blower fan. The evaporator coil is filled with cold, low-pressure refrigerant, which absorbs heat from the indoor air as it passes over the coil.
The blower then circulates the cooled air back into your living space through ducts or directly into the room (depending on the type of system).
2. Refrigerant Circulation:
After the refrigerant absorbs heat from the indoor air, it becomes warmer and turns from a low-pressure liquid to a low-pressure gas.
This heated refrigerant gas then travels through insulated copper pipes (or tubing) to the outdoor unit.
3. Outdoor Unit (Compressor and Condenser Coil):
The outdoor unit contains a compressor and a condenser coil. The compressor raises the pressure of the refrigerant gas, which also increases its temperature.
The hot, high-pressure refrigerant then flows through the condenser coil, where a fan blows outdoor air over it. This expels the heat to the outside, causing the refrigerant to cool back down and revert to a liquid state.
4. Expansion and Repeat:
The cooled, high-pressure refrigerant liquid passes through an expansion device (such as a thermal expansion valve or an electronic expansion valve) where it drops to a lower pressure, making it cold again.
Finally, the cold refrigerant travels back into the indoor unit’s evaporator coil to absorb more heat from inside the home, and the cycle continues.
Because the indoor and outdoor components are separate, a split system is both efficient and relatively quiet. The noisier parts—like the compressor and condenser fan—are kept outside, while the indoor air handler and evaporator coil operate more quietly inside your home. This setup effectively removes heat and humidity, improving indoor comfort.
