Air Conditioning: Types

There are several types of air conditioning equipment that are used by people in homes, offices and places of work to keep cool during the hot times of the year.

These types fall into just a few main categories and these can be fairly easily explained. I hope this will help you to see what the different types are and which might be the best choice for your particular circumstances should you be considering buying a new cooling system.

Each main type comes in a variety of designs and power outputs to suit a wide variety of applications. I'll explain them below:

Main Groups of Air Conditioning

The operation of an air conditioner essentially incorporates the flow of refrigerant from one set of coils (a ″collector″ to collect heat) to a second set of coils (a ″condenser″ to disperse heat).

Air conditioners come in different shapes and sizes and can be installed in a number of different ways.

Here are each of the three major AC groups:

Monoblock: these are units consisting of one block of equipment (whether window or portable etc.)
Split-systems: These have an element located inside and a separate linked element outside the building
Multi-split: These have a single outdoor element linked to 2 or more internal elements

Let's take a look at these different types of air conditioner that you can find in many homes and office installations.

Monoblock Air Conditioners

In monoblock air conditioners we find the two sets of coils (collector and condenser) are combined in the same unit shell. These units are designed primarily to be sited inside the building.

These units must always use an exhaust air pipe to link to the outside through an external wall or window vent so that the heated, moist-laden air can be dispersed to the outside.

This type of cooler includes regular and self evaporating portable air conditioners, which are the more familiar type of movable free standing units on wheels with the corrugated plastic hose connected to the back and to a window fixing kit. They do not require any kind of special mounting aside from the flexible 5″ diameter air pipe which is routed through a suitable window vent or a custom installed hole or vent in the wall.

It also includes window units that are commonly found installed in apartment blocks and older buildings. They can be a little more efficient than portable units and don't require any form of external venting hose, but they do take up some window space, blocking out some natural daylight.

The compressor/condenser is located inside the unit in contrast to split units where it is located in an external element. These mobile monoblock air conditioners have the disadvantage of being relatively noisy when running and limited in capacity.

Split Air Conditioning

There are various types of air conditioning described as "split."

Split units consist of an outer and inner component, connected by two copper pipes along which the refrigerant flows between the internal and external components and an electric cable.

The noisiest and bulkiest part of the equipment contains the compressor which is located outside. The internal component is lighter and quieter and is installed inside, generally high up on a suitable wall in the room.

Modern split air conditioning systems have a remote control and are often equipped with a heat pump facility that is useful for heating the room during the winter months. The combination of controls and heat pump means that the internal space can be climate controlled by split AC systems that are easily capable of maintaining a comfortable room temperature within 1-2 degrees of the temperature setting.

Multi Split Air Conditioning

These systems are essentially the same as mini-split systems with the exception that there can be a number of indoor units directly linked to a single external unit.

This type of air conditioning system requires a larger and more powerful condenser unit, but it does allow for indoor unit variants of the same type as single split systems. They also allow for different types of indoor unit to be run from a single condenser outside.

So now you know what types or air conditioners are available to suit your own needs!