Air Conditioning Applications

Air conditioning commonly refers to the process of cooling or dehumidifying the air for comfort. Such is the early purpose served by air conditioners, to provide coziness especially during hot or warm seasons. It all started in Ancient Rome where families of wealth have afforded the application of aqueduct water that circulated through the walls of their houses for cooling. The medieval Persians also employed the same concept of air conditioning in providing cooling comfort in buildings with the use of cisterns and wind towers.

Chemical advances and electrical breakthroughs have relatively improved the concept of air conditioning, but its main application in providing comfort still remains. In building indoor environments, comfort application of air conditioning has been supplying a constant temperature despite unpredictable weather changes. In the construction of buildings, the theory of air conditioning contributes to the feasibility of deep planning especially for high-rise structures. Natural ventilation for taller buildings is impractical as wind speed considerably increases with altitude. The application of comfort is different with each type of building whose classification is based on how the building itself is used such as in Low-Rise Residential buildings, High-Rise buildings, Commercial buildings, Institutional and Industrial buildings. Transportation vehicles may also include air conditioning such as vans, motor cars, trains, ships, aircraft and space conduits.

Comfort is not the lone application of air conditioning. Furthermore it supplies viable and suitable settings in various situations where vital processes need to be carried out. This is referred to as Process Application. In hospital operating rooms, air condition units help filter air and control humidity to decrease the risks of infection and patient dehydration. Open heart surgeries require low temperatures at about 18°C. Industrial productions such as that of ICs and pharmaceuticals need to be executed in clean rooms with high levels of clean air. Other process applications encompass laboratory animal breeding facilities, aircraft, data centers, textile factories, Physical testing facilities, Plants and farm growing areas, Nuclear facilities, Chemical and biological laboratories, Mines, Industrial environments, Food cooking and processing areas.

Nowadays, the use of air conditioners are not only limited to indoor and closed areas. Portable air conditioners are now available to be used for outdoor settings like in reception tents for weddings, tournaments and other outdoor events. Portable units may either be Portable Air Cooled or Water Cooled.

Portable Air Cooled units are utilized in situations when there is available space where the heat from a certain place that requires cooling may be displaced such as T-bar ceilings above offices, return air duct, outside wall or windows. This type of air conditioning which are portable is excellent in cooling the atmosphere in an outdoor tent or factory locations. While Portable Water Cooled units use water in removing heat from the conditioned area, in contrast to an air cooled portable utilizing a separate air stream in transferring heat. Another advantage of water cooled portables over its air cooled counterpart is that it is smaller and produces lesser noise. It also has a lower electrical use and therefore offsets the cost of water required for draining.