During the scorching summer heat time, a cool pleasant type of air is just a kind of switch away. Just make a turn on the air conditioner and within some minutes About A/C Coil you can feel the cold type of air around you.
Apart from the various kinds of factors that determine which air conditioner type is better. There is a kind of age-old debate as to which coil type is better – in coil making only two metals are used. Is Copper or Aluminum. Before we see the advantages and disadvantages of each type. Let us first understand the importance of these coils in the process of air conditioning.
In air conditioners importance of coil
The core to AC is a refrigerant gas that goes from the gaseous type of state to liquid state by compression and then again changes back to its gas position by absorbing heat available in the room. It goes through a process of refrigeration that’s divided mainly into 4 parts:
- Compression: The gas is going too pressurized and in the end converted into a high-pressure hot liquid.
- Condensation: The liquid flows through a coil where the high-pressure hot refrigerant liquid is converted into the cooler liquid by heat-releasing into the outside air. This is a part where the coil is used.
- Expansion Valve: A valve then converts the high-pressure liquid into a low-pressure kind of liquid.
- Evaporation: Again the low-pressure liquid goes through an evaporator coil where it absorbs heat from the room and changes its state from liquid to gas. This process happens in the AC indoor unit while all other processes happen in the AC outdoor unit (in case of the split ACS).
Basically, the inside air heat is transferred to the outside air and this heat transfer takes place in the coils.
The refrigerant in the evaporator coils evaporates (it changes from liquid to gas state) by heat absorbed from the air (air that comes from the room) passing over it. The air (from the room) is cooled in this process and directed into the room. The gaseous refrigerant is then passing through the process of compression and condensation coils where the refrigerant condenses by releasing the heat into the air surrounding it. This warm type of air goes to blow out with the help of exhaust fans.
This principle of working remains the same in all types of HVAC systems; just the system size keeps on varying. Hence the coils type used in them also affects the efficiency of HVAC systems. The coil size, the material that is used to make them, their cleaning and maintenance ease; all play a very vital and major role in the functioning of the HVAC systems.
History of Air Conditioner Coils
In the past, one of the most popular choices for making these coils was copper. For many years only copper is one to make the coils in HVAC systems due to the various benefits it had, but that made the air conditioner greatly expensive and not everybody goes to afford them.
By around the year 1970, General Electronics took a great step that was a kind of game-changer for the industry of air conditioning. The use of aluminum id started to make coils. The cost of aluminum used was much less in the comparison of using copper, which brought down the subsequent rates of ACs making it a luxury that most people could easily afford.
Since then there has been a debate about which kind of material is better for making coils.
Differences between Aluminum and Copper
Heat transfer characteristics:
When it comes to the transfer of heat in the coils, it’s very important for the metal to have a good quality of heat transfer characteristics. Copper has a transfer of heat coefficient higher than aluminum. That means, copper is the best kind of exchanger of heat rather than aluminum.
Cost and Pliability (The easily bent quality):
Copper is highly costlier than aluminum, which also increases the making of air conditioners and thereby the price of air conditioners in the market. In order to reduce the unit cost of ACs manufacturing, aluminum has become one of the favorite choices of manufacturers.
Another consideration is Pliability. Aluminum compared to copper, has a better kind of ability to bend into the desired shapes. Hence to make the same size coil and shape, approximately three times more copper is required, making the process greatly costlier.
However, to bring down the AC cost with copper coils, thinner and thinner coils of copper manufacture nowadays.
Strength and reliability:
If the coil, mistakenly bandaged, faces a problem called AC pressure. But the low AC pressure repair cost is dependent on your coil metal. Copper is easier to repair than aluminum. Many times, when the coils of aluminum go damaged they need replacement. The coils that are made out of copper are much stronger than the comparison of aluminum. Hence they are greatly durable.
Ease of maintenance:
The coil of the condenser set from outside the house revealed harsh dust and climates or needs cleaning regularly for better functioning. Having said that, copper coils are kind of easy to maintain and clean, as they are greatly durable. While the aluminum coils are not strong enough they need to be kept in a heavy-duty kind of cabinet to protect them from any damage. This makes them very difficult to maintain and clean.
Corrosion:
In determining the life of an Air Conditioner corrosion plays a very important role. Corrosion damages the coils hampering the transfer of heat process and also result in leakage. Hence it’s very essential in order to protect the coils from corrosion. Corrosion provides higher damage in humid climates and for people who live near the side of seacoasts and salty water bodies, as the content of moisture in the air is higher in such areas.
Because of this corrosion, a non-conducting type of layer formed over the coils. Which reduces its exchange heat capacity. Today many modern kinds of technologies, developed to protect the coils. Against corrosion and thus increase the ACS life. (Tip: Look for the techniques of corrosion protection while purchasing AC such as the over the coils corrosion etc.)
Conclusion
There are the benefits and cons of each type of metal that make it a great choice for making coils. But when you go to look for an answer as to which kind is better. Do check some of the modern techniques that give good results in terms of efficiency and performance of coils.
