Air-Conditioning comes in many forms, shapes and sizes. The following is a guidance to the various boxed Air-Conditioning units available. It is not meant as a definitive listing.
SPLIT TYPE AIR-CONDITIONING
In the majority of cases, the Air to Air, 'Split Type' units are installed. This style of unit has an indoor and an outdoor section with Pipes and cables connecting the two parts, allowing refrigerant flow and compressor Control. An internal or room temperature sensor detects changes in room temperature and switches the cooling or heating aspect on and off. The room air and external air are used as the delivery medium. This style can be high wall mounted, low wall mounted, above ceiling ducted, floor standing and recessed type.
PACKAGE UNITS
These are self contained units. Normally there are no interconnecting pipes and cables and this system usually has the Condenser section external to the premises. Typical style is the Window/wall units popular to Holiday apartments abroad. They can also be of larger sizes and roof top mounted to supply Conditioned air to an entire building by larger ductwork.
MULTI SYSTEMS
These are systems that have numerous indoor units connected to a single or multiple Condensers. The advantage of these system are in the systems ability to work with the condenser mounted a long way from the rooms being conditioned or when the condenser has to be sited on a roof top or in a basement. They are also very common in areas where external positioning of Condensers on the front of a building is not allowed, mostly in larger built up Towns or Citys. There is also the smaller Multi systems which have up to 5 indoor units on a smaller multi condenser. These are very cost effective, and have a very small external presence.
MOBILE or PORTABLE UNITS
These are probably the most commonly known types of unit as they are a quick and cheaper answer to an immediate problem. The duty of the more popular units is usually quite small, this is to keep them compact and cheap. Duties are nominally around 2 to 3.5kw. The other main factor that the duty is based on is that they are plugged into a 13 amp plug socket, which limits the available electrical loading. More sophisticated and industrial makes have larger Mobile units of up to 7kw. These though are not suitable for office environments and are used normally as emergency backup in Computer rooms.
WATER & AIR USED AS THE COOLING MEDIUM
Air-Conditioning is also available using Water as a medium. These are Chilled water cabinets which work in the same way that hot air convectors works. Chilled water is pumped around a circuit and through the coil of the room unit, Air is blown across the coil and the heat is transferred into the chilled water. This in turn is cooled by a refrigeration unit situated external or in a dedicated Plant room.
