@ Oliverh...
By Oliverh
Posted Friday 28th September 2007 13:34 GMT
***Errrr, I'm not sure you have got to grips with how AC works, but its not "pushing" air in through those lagged copper pipes! Its cooling air that stays in the room by circulating it, no pressure build up! The pipes contain the heat laden refrigerant, literally transporting just the heat out of the room.***
I do know quite a bit about the way aircon works (it was part of my job for a long time). In many places, they have an "indirect" air conditioning system, where the aircon unit is fitted to an outside wall or on the roof. It takes air from outside the building and cools it. Then, there are conduits taken to where the cold air is needed. Fans push the cold air from the aircon to the required rooms. That is the sort of aircon I'm talking about. This includes virtually all supermarkets, hospitals, and large office blocks. If the room has no venting, you get a pressure buildup, as I described.
***Are you one of those people (usually women, sorry for the sexism, it's just an observation!) that says "Oooh it's hot in here, turn on the AC and open a window?..."***
Erm, no, I'm not one of those people. Having installed many heating and cooling systems in commercial establishments over the last 30 years, I do realise that a "direct" aircon system works best in a sealed environment (as in my car), but "indirect" systems don't work if the room is sealed. You can only push a limited amount of air into a sealed room before the pressure reaches equilibrium, then the airflow stops.