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 Mobile ViewAIR CONDITIONING & HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS A/C - HEAT PUMP CONTROLS & SWITCHES AIR CONDITIONER BTU CHART AIR CONDITIONER COMPONENT PARTS AIR CONDITIONER TYPES, ENERGY SOURCES AIR CONDITIONER NOT WORKING AIR FILTERS for HVAC SYSTEMS AIR HANDLER / BLOWER UNITS ANIMAL ALLERGENS / PET DANDER ANIMAL ENTRY POINTS in buildings ANIMAL ODORS IN buildings APPLIANCE EFFICIENCY RATINGS ASBESTOS IDENTIFICATION IN buildings BACKUP HEAT for HEAT PUMPS BLOWER DOORS & AIR INFILTRATION BLOWER FAN CONTINUOUS OPERATION BLOWER FAN OPERATION & TESTING BOOKSTORE - Air Conditioning "How To" Books CAPACITORS for HARD STARTING MOTORS CAPILLARY TUBES CHINESE DRYWALL HAZARDS CIRCUIT BREAKER SIZE for A/C or HEAT PUMP CLEANING & Legionella BACTERIA CHINESE DRYWALL HAZARDS COMBUSTION GASES & PARTICLE HAZARDS COMPRESSOR & CONDENSING COIL, A/C CONDENSATE HANDLING, A/C CONDENSATION or SWEATING PIPES, TANKS COOL OFF HEAT Thermostat Switch COOLING CAPACITY, RATED COOLING COIL or EVAPORATOR COIL COOLING LOAD REDUCTION by ROOF VENTS COMBUSTION GASES & PARTICLE HAZARDS CONDENSATE HANDLING, A/C CONDENSATION or SWEATING PIPES, TANKS DATA TAGS on AIR CONDITIONERS DEFINITION of Heating & Cooling Terms DEHUMIDIFICATION PROBLEMS DEW POINT CALCULATION for WALLS DEW POINT TABLE - CONDENSATION POINT GUIDE DIAGNOSE & FIX AIR CONDITIONER / HEAT PUMP DUCT SYSTEM & DUCT DEFECTS DUCTS - Asbestos DUCT INSULATION, Asbestos Paper DUCT INSULATION for SOUNDPROOFING DUCT SYSTEM NOISES DUCTS, Asbestos Transite Pipe DUST CONTAMINATION FROM HVAC? EDUCATION, HVAC SCHOOLS ELECTRIC MOTOR DIAGNOSTIC GUIDE ELECTRIC MOTOR OVERLOAD RESET SWITCH ELECTRICAL POWER SWITCH FOR HEAT EVAPORATIVE COOLING SYSTEMS EVAPORATOR COIL or COOLING COIL EXPANSION VALVES, REFRIGERANT FAN, AIR HANDLER BLOWER UNIT FAN AUTO ON Thermostat Switch FAN, COMPRESSOR/CONDENSER UNIT FAN CONVECTOR HEATERS - HYDRONIC COILS FAN LIMIT SWITCH FAN NOISES FURNACES WARM AIR HEATING SYSTEMS GAS EXPOSURE EFFECTS, TOXIC GAS DETECTION & MEASUREMENT GAUGE, REFRIGERATION PRESSURE TEST HEAT LOSS (or GAIN) in buildings HEAT PUMPS HUMIDITY LEVEL TARGET INDOOR AIR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT GUIDE INSPECTION LIMITATIONS, A/C SYSTEMS LOST COOLING CAPACITY MANUALS & PARTS GUIDES - HVAC MOTOR OVERLOAD RESET SWITCH NOISE AIR CONDITIONER / HEAT PUMP OPERATING COST OPERATING DEFECTS OPERATING TEMPERATURES Air Conditioning System Temperatures Instruments Used to Measure A/C Temperatures Procedures for Making Temperature Measurements PORTABLE ROOM AIR CONDITIONERS PRESSURE READINGS, REFRIGERANT REPAIR GUIDE, AIR CONDITIONERS / HEAT PUMPS REPAIR & DIAGNOSTIC FAQs for A/C REFRIGERANTS GAUGE, REFRIGERATION PRESSURE TEST REFRIGERANT CHARGING PROCEDURE REFRIGERANT DRIERS & FILTERS REFRIGERANT LEAK DETECTION REFRIGERANT LEAK REPAIR REFRIGERANT METERING DEVICES TEVs REFRIGERANT METERING CAPILLARY TUBES REFRIGERANT PIPING & DISTANCES REFRIGERANT PRESSURE READINGS RETROFIT SIZING for A/C or HEAT PUMPS SEER RATINGS & OTHER DEFINITIONS SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS SPLIT SYSTEM AIR CONDITIONERS & HEAT PUMPS SWAMP COOLERS SYSTEM OPERATION THERMOSTATS, HEATING / COOLING THERMOSTATIC EXPANSION VALVES WATER COOLED AIR CONDITIONERS More Information |
This article answers: what are the normal operating temperatures of air conditioning equipment and what temperatures can be expected when measured at different locations, information that we look at as part of checking basic air conditioning system operation and for detection of air conditioning operating defects. InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers nor with topics or services discussed at this website.Air conditioner temperatures that are too high or too low can indicate specific operating problems on central and portable or window air conditioners. Simple measurements of air temperatures, if made at the right place, can assist in diagnosing what may be wrong and what repairs may be needed for the air conditioner. This document is a portion of our website which describes the inspection of residential air conditioning systems (A/C systems) to inform home buyers, owners, and home inspectors of common cooling system defects. If your air conditioning or heat pump system has lost its cooling capacity or won't start see REPAIR GUIDE for AIR CONDITIONERS. See How to determine the cooling capacity of air conditioning equipment if the system seems to be working but is inadequate to cool your building. Contact us to suggest text changes and additions and, if you wish, to receive online listing and credit for that contribution. © Copyright 2012 InspectAPedia.com, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use page top links to major topics or use links at the left of each page to navigate within topics and documents at this website. Green links show where you are in a document series or at this website. OPERATING TEMPERATURES - Air Conditioning System Operating Temperatures
This is because a properly working system is transferring heat from the compressed refrigerant (perhaps
150 deg .F. inside the condenser coil) to the outside air (perhaps 85 to 90 degF ambient outdoor temperature). Temperature differences inside at the air conditioning system air handler's evaporator coil: if the A/C system is has reached steady state operation and normal operation, the temperature of air should be reduced as it moves across the evaporator coil. Typically this drop is 15 to 20 deg .f. [Carson Dunlop adds it may be as little as 14 degF. or as much as 22 degF.]. Look for this difference between the indoor
air in the building as it reaches the coil and the air leaving the coil. Temperature leaving the air handler's evaporator coil: similar to above,
measure the supply air temperature at a hole or crack in the supply plenum above (or "downstream from) the evaporator coil. It should
be around 55 degF. Some experts argue that this is the only accurate way to examine the cooling system and that measuring temperatures across the evaporator coil is unreliable.
There too, unless the supply duct is long, uninsulated, running in a hot space (such as an attic), the air temperature at the supply register should be around 55 degrees. As long as the building has not reached its thermostat's set point.
the system should be blowing air that is noticeably cooler than the building's air. Too Low air conditioning output temperatures may indicate that there is a problem with air movement in the system. If air moves too slowly across the coil its temperature may be lower than the numbers specified above. Look for an evaporator coil that is partly blocked by dirt or is icing up. Too low a temperature can also be caused by improper metering of refrigerant into the evaporator coil (a bad TEV or thermal expansion valve), or by improper charging (too little refrigerant in the system). NOTE about air conditioning refrigerant leaks: so a refrigerant leak in an air conditioning system may show up first as abnormally low system output air temperature, followed by rising air temperatures, followed by just plain old warm air coming out of the system, as the amount of refrigerant that has been lost increases. Refrigerant leaks should be found and repaired. At air conditioning school we scoffed at repairmen who developed an air conditioning refrigerant delivery route - regularly adding refrigerant to what is supposed to be a closed, non-leaking system. It may be easy and profitable, and sometimes a refrigerant leak can be hard to find, but a proper repair is to find an fix the refrigerant leak, not just to keep adding refrigerant. See REFRIGERANT LEAK DETECTION. Too high air conditioning output temperatures may indicate that the system is not working properly: perhaps the coil has become blocked solid with ice. Alternatively, high A/C outlet temperatures may be occurring, or even no cooling at all, due to other problems such as a loss of refrigerant. (Don't just add refrigerant, find and fix the leak. Otherwise you're just making the refrigerant delivery man rich.) Operating Temperature Ranges of Types of Refrigeration EquipmentHigh temperature refrigeration equipment refers to cooling equipment that operates typically in the 25 degF to 45 degF, such as air conditioning systems. Medium temperature refrigeration equipment refers to cooling equipment that operates typically in the range of 0 degF to 25 degF, such as a food freezer or refrigerator. Low temperature refrigeration equipment refers to cooling equipment that operates typically at temperatures below zero, such as commercial freezing equipment. All of these refrigeration systems operate on the same principles and in general they use similar equipment, though the choice of refrigerant liquid/gas, and the operating controls will vary. Air Conditioner Suction Line Pressure and Temperature - Typical Data and What It MeansDetermining proper suction "pressure" (really we're measuring a vacuum, not a pressure) is critical for proper refrigeration equipment operation assessment. If the air conditioner system suction pressure is too low (and that probably means the temperature in the line also is "low") it could indicate
Note that if we're looking at oil-slugging, the compressor head temperatures will also be abnormally high - which is how Normally suction line pressure on air conditioning equipment is about 45 degF with a suction pressure of 42 psi for Freon 12 and about 76 psi for Freon 22. The data points for the new refrigerants will be a bit different, but this example makes clear that the air conditioning system pressure measurement numbers (both suction vacuum and compressor outlet side pressures and temperatures) will be different for each
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