Difference Between Air Conditioning And Refrigeration

Air conditioning and refrigeration are similar in several ways. Both mechanisms involve the expansion of gases, adequately designed chemicals, and the conversion of gas to liquid. Apart from the similarities, there are several points of difference between air conditioning and refrigeration. It is easy to both these phenomena in industrial as well as domestic appliances. The students will get to understand the concepts simply and clearly with the difference between refrigeration and air conditioning tables.

What Does Air Conditioning Mean?

Air conditioning refers to the process of changing the temperature in the air with the removal of heat and moisture. The process thus makes a more comfortable inner environment in summers. An air conditioner has both an indoor as well as an outdoor unit connected with a pipe. The main difference between refrigeration and air conditioning is that air conditioning maintains the humidity as well as the temperature of the surrounding. The air conditioning term mainly covers any modern technology which modifies the state of air with its cleaning, dehumidification, cooling, heating, and ventilation. 

From the air conditioning and refrigeration difference, it is clear that the former one takes the hot air and then by the process of evaporation, cools it. AC has two major components, namely; condenser and evaporator. The entire system circulates the coolant in different aggregate states like gaseous and liquid. Its cooling process is quite similar to the process of heat pumps for heating. Both these procedures are based upon the principle of Carnot cycle. 

What Does Refrigeration Mean?

The term refrigeration refers to cooling. It is the technology that deals with the cooling process. Similar to the cooling process, which reduces the internal energy of the body by removal of heat energy. Refrigeration also refers to transferring heat from cold temperatures to hot temperatures. Talking about the refrigeration and air conditioning difference, the apparatus supplies thermal energy from cold temperature to high temperature in the refrigeration. However, in the case of air conditioning, the air is taken to lower the temperature in the surrounding space. 

For the refrigeration process, the liquid is used as equipment that is further converted to a gas at short temperatures. The coolants used are generally chlorofluorocarbons such as freons. Without being heated, freon coolant is transferred from the liquid state to the gas state. When it is in liquid form, it absorbs the heat. With a temperature rise, freon gets turned into a gas. Due to this process, the temperature of the matters kept inside the refrigerator falls. 

Difference Between Refrigeration And Air Conditioning Tables

AC comprises a condenser and a compressor as distinct units from the evaporator. However, the case is not true for refrigeration. In this case, the compressor, condenser, and evaporator serve as a single unit. Thus, it becomes efficient to differentiate between refrigeration and air conditioning with certain points of difference. Students can go through with the following refrigeration and air conditioning difference given in a tabular form: