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A split air conditioner is a suitable alternative to wall, window, or centralized air

conditioner systems. Often called mini-split, ductless split, or duct-free air conditioning,
this system can adequately cool a standard-sized house without requiring extensive
installation costs and efforts.

Split air conditioners are home appliances that do not require ductwork, which reduces
energy expenditures. Still, many homeowners shy away from a split air conditioner system
because they do not know how it works or why it is a viable option for cooling down.

The following information will fill you in on the function and installation of split air
conditioner systems. They are uncommon, but not through any fault or flaw. You may
discover that a split system sounds ideal for your own home needs.

Components
A split air conditioner is made up of two primary parts that a very familiar: the evaporator
and the compressor. Both of these elements exist is more common central air units and
wall air conditioners. The difference with a mini-split system is that they are separated into
two different, distant components, one being outdoors and one being indoors. The
outdoor section is a compressor that initiates the cooling process, while the indoor
component consists of an evaporator and fan.

The two sections are connected with a set of electrical wires and tubing, also called lines,
used to transport air between the two sections. It's these lines that allow the split AC to be
considered ductless, and the fact that the wires and tubing are so small and discreet
compared to large ducts is where the "mini" split name comes from.

Function
The compressor is controlled by an internal thermostat. As the thermostat detects warm
air, it activates the outdoor compressor. The compressor circulates a refrigerant gas,
increasing the pressure and temperature of the refrigerant as it compresses it through a
series of pipes. The refrigerant then moves to the condenser for further processing.

In the condenser, a cooling system removes heat from the high-pressure gas and the gas
changes phase and becomes a liquid. This chilled liquid is pushed through tubing indoors
until it reaches the evaporator system.
Inside the home, the evaporator fan collects warm air and passes it through a chamber
containing the chilled liquid refrigerant. The fan system blows this air, which has now been
cooled, back into the room, lowering the overall temperature of the space. If the
thermostat still detects air that is warmer than desirable, the process continues, and the
refrigerant and any excess heat that remains in the system are passed back outdoors to the
compressor in order to begin the cycle again.

Benefits of Split Air Systems

Less Energy Loss
A Split air conditioner is compact and isolated between two localized component sections,
so there is very little opportunity for heat and other energy to escape the system.
Centralized air conditioning systems waste enormous amounts of energy due to heat
exchange in the air conditioner duct system. However, this problem is virtually eliminated
in a split air conditioner system.

Less Heat Loss

Split air conditioner systems are preferable to window and wall air conditioning units as
well. Although the latter are small and easy to install, they do not provide reliable cooling
to a large space or to multiple rooms. Even with thoroughly sealed windows and walls,
these air conditioner units allow for heat to enter the space, partially negating the effects
of the system.

Targeted Heating and Cooling

Additionally, it's possible to have more than one indoor evaporator and fan. You could have
one in each room or area of your home and run them each independently with only one
outdoor compressor. This combines the efficiency and customization of a space heater or
fan with the convenience of central air.

Affordable Installation
Split air conditioners are compact, easy to operate and maintain, and relatively
inexpensive. They do require some electrical wiring and other specialized installation
techniques, so it is advisable to hire a professional air conditioner installer to set up the
system. However, once the system is installed, most homeowners find that it is a cheap,
energy-efficient way of adequately controlling the heat within the home.
1) http://www.doityourself.com/stry/how-does-a-split-air-
conditioner-work#b
2) Every air conditioner (also pronounced as AC, A/C or Air Cooler in certain regions of the
world) has got a compressor inside it. It works to compress and pump the refrigerant gas.
Compression of refrigerant produces heat. To dissipate this heat, compressed refrigerant is
pumped to the condenser coils where a fan blows the heat out to outer atmosphere. During
this process, refrigerant takes the liquid form. This liquid refrigerant is pumped towards
expansion valve. Expansion valve has a temperature sensor connected to it which works in
correlation with thermostat settings. Expansion valve releases the appropriate amount of
refrigerant to evaporator (cooling coils) where liquefied refrigerant takes gaseous form.
Conversion from liquid to gaseous state due to expansion causes cooling because energy
is absorbed from the surrounding. Air when passes through fins (attached to coils) gets
cooled and blown to the room. The gaseous refrigerant in cooling coils then enters the
compressor and gets compressed once again. The cycle continues unless the compressor
is shut down.

In a nutshell, air conditioner draws heat from the indoor and releases it to the outdoor. Indoor
acts as a source and outdoor as a sink for heat.

In vehicle air conditioners, a Receiver-Drier is installed between condenser and expansion

valve. It serves to collect excessive refrigerant when not required for cooling operation. It
also has got a desiccant which absorbs any moisture present in the refrigerant.

http://benignblog.com/2012/01/how-air-conditioner-works-
simple-diagrammatic-explanation.html
 3)
Refrigeration cycle[edit]
Main article: Heat pump and refrigeration cycle

A simple stylized diagram of the refrigeration cycle: 1) condensing coil, 2) expansion valve, 3) evaporator coil,
4) compressor

Capillary expansion valve connection to evaporator inlet. Notice frost formation

In the refrigeration cycle, heat is transported from a colder location to a hotter area. As heat would
naturally flow in the opposite direction, work is required to achieve this. A refrigerator is an example
of such a system, as it transports the heat out of the interior and into its environment (i.e., the room).
The refrigerant is used as the medium which absorbs and removes heat from the space to be cooled
and subsequently rejects that heat elsewhere.

Circulating refrigerant vapor enters the compressor and is compressed to a higher pressure,
resulting in a higher temperature as well. The hot, compressed refrigerant vapor is now at a
temperature and pressure at which it can be condensed and is routed through acondenser. Here it is
cooled by air flowing across the condenser coils and condensed into a liquid. Thus, the circulating
refrigerant removes heat from the system and the heat is carried away by the air.

The condensed and pressurized liquid refrigerant is next routed through an expansion valve where it
undergoes an abrupt reduction in pressure. That pressure reduction results in flash evaporation of a
part of the liquid refrigerant, lowering its temperature. The cold refrigerant is then routed through
the evaporator. A fan blows the warm air (which is to be cooled) across the evaporator, causing the
liquid part of the cold refrigerant mixture to evaporate as well, further lowering the temperature. The
warm air is therefore cooled.

To complete the refrigeration cycle, the refrigerant vapor is routed back into the compressor.

By placing the condenser inside a compartment, and the evaporator in the ambient environment
(such as outside), or by merely running an air conditioner's refrigerant in the opposite direction, the
overall effect is the opposite, and the compartment is heated instead of cooled. See alsoheat pump.

The engineering of physical and thermodynamic properties of gas–vapor mixtures is

called psychrometrics.

3)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_conditioning#Re
frigeration_cycle