Wind Chill Effect of Air Conditioners

Wind Chill

• The wind chill is the temperature you feel on any exposed skin. It's felt the most outdoors during the winter when winds are high and temperatures are low. Moving air helps to wick away sweat from the skin. When the sweat evaporates, you feel a cooling sensation. This is why sweating in a dry, windy desert climate will quickly cool you off because the dry air and wind pick up the moisture from your skin easily. A 5 miles per hour breeze when the temperature is 93 degrees Fahrenheit in a dry climate will allow the average person to feel comfortable, according to "Ortho's Home Improvement Encyclopedia Problem Solving A to Z," by Charles G. Wing.

Humidity and Comfort

• In a muggy climate, the air is already saturated with moisture and it's less likely to absorb the sweat from your skin. If you want to feel a wind chill effect where it's humid, you must remove some of the excess humidity. This can be done indoors by an air conditioner, which dehumidifies the air. Once the humidity levels in the air are reduced, the wind chill from moving air will have a bigger impact in the perceived temperature and comfort levels.

How Air Conditioners Cool

• Air conditioners operate by removing the heat from indoor air, in the evaporator coils, and blowing the cooled air throughout your house. Air enters the air conditioning system through the return air vent inside your home. It then moves over the evaporator coils where it's cooled by a refrigerant flowing through the coils. This refrigerant absorbs heat from the air, cooling the air and heating the refrigerant. As the air cools, moisture in the air condenses on the coils, and the air is dehumidified. The warm refrigerant changes from a liquid to a gas -- just like water changes to steam when heated. The refrigerant moves to the condenser coils where it gives up its heat and condenses back into a liquid to return to the evaporator coil. Fans in the air conditioner keep the air moving throughout the system and contribute to the wind chill effect.

Wind Chill and Air Conditioners

• The wind chill effect will occur with an air conditioner if you stand directly in front of a vent while the fan is blowing. The movement of the cooled, dry air will absorb more sweat from your skin than the warm, wet air outside. This creates a wind chill effect. You won't feel a wind chill if you stand away from the vent's air flow. With a fan, you can enhance the wind chill of the air conditioner and make the room feel cooler with the thermostat set higher. Place a fan in the room so it constantly blows on you, and the wind chill effect produced by the fan in the low-humidity environment created by the air conditioner will make the room feel cooler.