Since the days Willis Carrier introduced us to the device of air conditioners to the present, the device has pervaded almost all aspects of our life. They can be found in almost all facets of our life. From our bedroom, to our office, from the schools our children go to, to the malls we go for our shopping. It is everywhere we look at. This would make us wonder how wide ranging would be the applications of air conditioners.



The indoor and outdoor units of a ductless air conditioner are linked with a conduit. Within the conduit is the power cable, refrigerant tubing, suction tubing, and condensate drain. While the compressor which creates a whole lot of noise is in the outdoor unit, the quieter parts of the air conditioner - the fan and the evaporator are in the indoor unit.

If you ask an expert like an air conditioner engineer as to what are the applications of the device he would answer that it can be divided into two broad categories:

- Comfort and

- Process

When an air conditioner is meant for comfort applications its main job would be to provide a constant temperature indoors whatever may be the fluctuations of weather outside. It would also be able to deal with any change of temperature due to internal heat loads. The temperature maintained by these air conditioners is in the range where humans feel comfortable as these air conditioners are manufactured to provide comfort to humans.

Comfort air conditioners have allowed humans to build deep buildings where otherwise you wouldn't have fresh air flowing in. The only way out was by building light wells. But with a central air conditioner in place you can actually cover as much horizontal floor space as you want and need not worry about ventilation. Air conditioners have also allowed humans to build extremely tall buildings. With air turbulence unpredictable at extreme heights, ventilating high rises would not have been feasible. With air conditioners one can do away with that problem.

Comfort air conditioners are again of two types - for residential buildings and for commercial buildings.

Process air conditioning is meant to maintain a constant temperature irrespective of the weather outside or the internal heat loads. However, even under process air conditioning the temperature is generally within the comfort range. But it must be understood that in process air conditioning it is the process and not what you and I prefer that would determine the temperature that is maintained.

When an open heart surgery is performed the temperature maintained is about 18 degree Celsius or 64 degree Fahrenheit. For a neonatal operation again the temperature maintained is pretty higher - something around 28 degree Celsius or 82 degree Fahrenheit.

So the applications are pretty wide ranging.