Essential HVAC Guide - Air Conditioning Control Systems

rnPeople often talk about including some form of temperature control with their reverse cycle ducted air conditioning system. What are the different forms of air conditioning temperature control and how do they work? We will look at the common types of air conditioning temperature control systems and how they work below. Basic Air Conditioning Controller The basic controller that comes with your reverse cycle air conditioning system comes with a thermostat that reads the temperature of the air conditioning. Typically, this temperature is read from the controller or more commonly within the unit's return air box located within the ceiling space. If the temperature is read inside the return air box, sometimes it is not an accurate representation of the temperature in the room. The room itself can be quite cold, but by the time the air is recirculated to the return air box, it may have warmed up significantly, meaning the air conditioner will continue to run (for example, the controller in the living room is set at 22 degrees, but once the air reaches the return air box, it has heated up to 30 degrees, which in turn keeps the air conditioner running.) In this situation, the unit will continue to operate even if people get cold. However, there are two options to counter this. First, increasing the temperature of the controls will make the unit turn off faster. It should be remembered that the temperature set on the controller is generally not accurate, but rather works as a scale (i.e. if you set it to 22 degrees, it does not necessarily mean that the room will cool to 22 degrees). Second, some people place a fixed ducted constant in their hallway near the return air grille. This constant, as the name implies, is always active. This allows the air conditioner to easily return to the unit's return air box, helping the unit turn off. In this case, if you were running only your rooms that were too far from the return air, the air in the rooms would become too hot before returning to the return air. However, the fixed constant would purge air directly to the grille, which will cause the unit to shut down and ultimately save you money on running costs. https://rescueairexperts.com/ VAV air conditioning controller VAV stands for Variable Air Volume System. This is where the zone motors for your reverse cycle ducted air conditioning system allow some temperature control in the rooms you are in. A zone is basically a series of vanes that close the ducts if you want to stop air from going into a room. For example, if you turn off your room, the blades close, restricting the flow of air from the pipe into the room. Similarly, when you want air, the blades fully open and air begins to flow out of the diffuser into your room. However, VAV systems work differently. Instead of the blades simply opening or closing, they can constantly adjust what percentage they are open. This constant adjustment allows you to control the amount of air flow entering a room, which ultimately controls the temperature of the room. For example, if your room is around 30 degrees and you set your VAV controller (located in the actual room) to 22 degrees, the air would rush in trying to cool the room. Once the temperature in the room reaches around 22 degrees, the blades will begin to close to restrict air flow to maintain that temperature. As soon as the ambient temperature begins to rise above 22 degrees, the blades will open again to allow more air to flow and return to 22 degrees. By doing this, the VAV system can maintain the temperature in a room.