this post was submitted on 15 Jan 2025
38 points (100.0% liked)

Ask Science

8832 readers
62 users here now

Ask a science question, get a science answer.


Community Rules


Rule 1: Be respectful and inclusive.Treat others with respect, and maintain a positive atmosphere.


Rule 2: No harassment, hate speech, bigotry, or trolling.Avoid any form of harassment, hate speech, bigotry, or offensive behavior.


Rule 3: Engage in constructive discussions.Contribute to meaningful and constructive discussions that enhance scientific understanding.


Rule 4: No AI-generated answers.Strictly prohibit the use of AI-generated answers. Providing answers generated by AI systems is not allowed and may result in a ban.


Rule 5: Follow guidelines and moderators' instructions.Adhere to community guidelines and comply with instructions given by moderators.


Rule 6: Use appropriate language and tone.Communicate using suitable language and maintain a professional and respectful tone.


Rule 7: Report violations.Report any violations of the community rules to the moderators for appropriate action.


Rule 8: Foster a continuous learning environment.Encourage a continuous learning environment where members can share knowledge and engage in scientific discussions.


Rule 9: Source required for answers.Provide credible sources for answers. Failure to include a source may result in the removal of the answer to ensure information reliability.


By adhering to these rules, we create a welcoming and informative environment where science-related questions receive accurate and credible answers. Thank you for your cooperation in making the Ask Science community a valuable resource for scientific knowledge.

We retain the discretion to modify the rules as we deem necessary.


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Context: I am not a fridgy, I work with electronics. I would love to answer my question by tearing open a dozen different aircon units, but I'm sorely lacking in that department.

Question: Are there some optional components or fancier materials that are simply too expensive to use in the lower end aircons; but are used in the higher efficiency expensive units? The range of COP/EER I see advertised is wild, from 2 to 6 or so.

I already vaguely understand that these things help efficiency:

  • Bigger indoor & outdoor coils with more metal in them (working fluids get returned hotter/colder gives better carnot efficiency)
  • Operating compressor at its optimal power level (I believe they have an efficiency vs power curve with a single peak, so it's better to use a bigger compressor if you need more power output)
  • Inverter control instead of on/off control (most situations, but technically some use cases will have them on par)
  • Choice of refrigerant (but that seems to be controlled in my market, I have not seen many options)

Is there anything else they change? Or is that most of the difference?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] bizarroland@fedia.io -1 points 14 hours ago (2 children)

In addition to advances in fin design and compressor and motor efficiency and materials, there's also the option to use things like heat pumps instead of traditional compressor based ac systems. They tend to be more efficient or for the same size to produce more cold air for the same electricity.

Due to the fact that a heat pump moves heat and it is not a unidirectional process like a traditional compressor system is, heat pump air conditioning systems can be both heaters and coolers at about the same electrical efficiency.

[–] WaterWaiver@aussie.zone 7 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago) (1 children)

heat pumps instead of traditional compressor based ac systems

Heat pumps are compressor based systems. They are the same technology.

In addition to advances in fin design and compressor and motor efficiency and materials

This reads lot like an answer from an LLM. Did you use one? My apologies if not, but you sound very suspicious.

[–] bizarroland@fedia.io 1 points 10 hours ago

No I didn't use an llm and yes a heat pump does use a condenser or a compressor but it's not the same as a Freon based compressor system.

Yes, heat pumps use probably a Freon based refrigerant but they operate in a slightly different manner.

[–] Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe 3 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago)

How is being a heatpump (a reversible air conditioner) automatically more efficient?

If you have 2 units using identical design, but only add a reversing valve, I don't see how the heat pump version would be any more efficient at cooling.