Basic Principle Of Air Conditioning

The basic principle at work in a climate control system is heat transfer. An automotive A/C system takes heat inside the passenger compartment and transfers it outside.

In an A/C system, heat is transferred using a refrigerant. The refrigerant absorbs heat from air entering the passenger compartment, carries the heat outside the compartment, releases the heat, and then re-enters the compartment to begin the cycle again.

An A/C system does not "add cold" to air, it removes some of the heat from it. Some heat is always present, but the less heat the air contains, the cooler it feels.