How Does a Horizontal Air Conditioner Work?

Air Flow

• A split-system air conditioner has two parts. The outside vents and exhaust grilles are located on the outdoor component. Air from the home enters the intake grilles and exits the front vents as cold air from the inside component. Air flows horizontally from the unit, which is mounted high up on the wall close to the ceiling, so as to avoid blowing cold air directly on room occupants. Heat blows from the bottom of the unit down to the floor. The double components eliminate the need for duct work.

Buttons

• Operational buttons appear both on the inside component and the remote control, if the unit comes with one. Featured buttons might include the “Mode” button, “Dry” button, “Fan Speed” button and “Clock” button. The “Mode” button would be used to set the air mode to such functions as “Cool,” “Heat” or “Fan” mode.

Cooling

• When the horizontal unit is set to cool mode, cold air blows horizontally from the unit. You should feel the effects of cool mode subtly, instead of as a deliberate blowing action. The unit’s internal thermostat can be set to achieve the desired cooling temperature. A digital air conditioner model features directional up and down buttons located on the remote control and on the user interface. These buttons can be pressed to raise or lower the thermostat. The lower the thermostat setting, the colder the air.

Heating

• Heat mode can be reached with multiple presses to the “Mode” button until heat mode is activated. Much like cool mode, heat mode achieves the desired heat level through the settings of the thermostat. You can press the up directional button until the desired temperature is reached. For instance, if you raise the temperature to 78 degrees, the horizontal unit emits warm or hot air until the room is heated to 78 degrees. The heating range varies from unit to unit, but is within the approximate range of 60 to 88 degrees Fahrenheit.

Dry

• Some units feature a dry or a coil dry mode. The standard dry mode sucks moisture from the air and exhausts it out of the outside component into the outside air. During hot or humid days, you might enable the coil dry mode once a day to eliminate moisture from inside the unit, particularly around the coils. Should moisture accumulate on the coils, harmful mold might accrue, which stunts the coils' operation.