Something that is very important in a car, is the air conditioning system. Depending on where you live it’s almost a must, in those countries where the temperature is hot all the time, it’s really not even worth the time of looking at a car that doesn’t have air conditioning in it.
Air conditioning works to control the temperature in your car, the air is cooled by the gas Freon. In the air conditioning of the car there is a compressor that will pressurize the Freon. When the Freon gas becomes pressurized it will become hot, because it will absorb the heat. The hot Freon will then go through tubes that will take the heat out of it. So instead of how most people think of an air conditioner, it is actually working to remove the heat, not by turning cold. However, the basics of the system are that when the gas becomes pressurized it will take the heat out of the air in the car and feel like a nice blast of cold air hitting you and cooling you down.
However, several years back it was found that Freon itself is harmful to the Ozone, and for that purpose it is no longer used in cars. Though the replacement isn’t as efficient as the Freon was, it’s a lot safer for you to use, and you can actually buy a kit in an auto store to replace the case yourself. Some older cars still have the older system in them; these can be converted very easily.
The air conditioner in your car consists of the following parts, condenser, compressor, and refrigeration lines, either a drier or evaporator, and some sensors. The main part of your car air conditioning system would be the compressor. This is where the gas will be pressurized. There will be an engine belt on your engine that will run this compressor. Next is the condenser, this is basically like your radiator, but a much smaller version. This is where the gas becomes cooler in a sense, plus it becomes liquid. After that you would have the evaporator, which is basically another radiator, it does the opposite job of the condenser. When the cooled liquid goes through this part it is combined with air and gets even colder.
Since you’re not always looking to be super-cooled there is a value that will control how cold the air will get. A drier is a way for your system to remain safe. It will catch liquid that may actually get through and damage that compressor. This is done by a chemical and will help to keep your system operating correctly.
Air conditioning in a car is a nice thing, it use to be a luxury to have a car that had an air conditioner, but now it’s a pretty basic and standard thing to get a car with a nice cool air conditioning system. Know the parts of the equipment; it may help you in the long run if your system begins acting up.