For air conditioning of residential premises and office buildings, split-systems of various types and types are installed. A split system is a device consisting of two units: external and internal. The first is taken out into the street, the second is mounted in the room. Between each other both modules are connected by a copper pipeline, through which the working gas (freon) circulates, and by electrical communications.
Types of split systems and types of indoor units
View - this is a more general concept that applies to technical climate control devices regarding their purpose for certain buildings. A type has a narrow semantic orientation, which means any feature of a structure or design.
Split systems are divided by type and type. There are two types of two-component installations: domestic and commercial or semi-industrial. The first are mounted in apartments or small offices, the second - in shops, hairdressers and other similar institutions.
All split systems are divided into types regarding the construction and design of the indoor unit:
- wall mounted;
- cassette
- columned;
- channel;
- floor and ceiling.
Each manufacturer produces split systems with different types of indoor units, equipping them with various functions and a standard set of operating modes, which include cooling and ventilation of the air available in the room. It is the parameters of this part of the system that justify the choice of customers.
Regardless of the size and external design, any room module consists of:
- heat exchanger (evaporator);
- a fan;
- air distribution grilles;
- input filter;
- guide blinds;
- front panel;
- LEDs
- temperature sensors.
Fine filters, winter kit and other additional items are available as an option at the request of the customer. A circuit board may be included if the unit is wall mounted. Operation parameters are set from the remote control. Some models of expensive equipment have the ability to control functionality via the Internet, from a phone or from a central controller.
The principle of operation of the air conditioner indoor unit
In general, the cooling looks like this: in order to absorb heat from the room and to release coolness, the fan of the indoor unit draws heated air out of the room, after which the process of absorption of heat by the refrigerant starts when it passes through the cold coil.
The refrigerant is a liquid gas (freon), due to which the air cools down. In fact, it is a heat carrier. In the process of transferring cold to the air and taking heat from it, it changes its state, that is, it evaporates. This occurs in the heat exchanger of the indoor unit. Here, from a liquid state, freon passes into a gaseous state. He took the heat, the air cooled and enters through the fan back into the room. The process of heat removal is already going through the outdoor unit.
Simply put, the role of the indoor module is to draw in warm air, cool it and return it to the room. When the device is operated for heating, on the contrary, it becomes a heat conductor, changing the functions performed with the outdoor module. By this principle, internal blocks of all types work.
Wall-mounted indoor units and their sizes
Household air conditioners include wall-mounted models - the most popular among buyers. They resemble a rectangle or square in shape, like LG wall-mounted appliances of the ART COOL GALLERY series.They are hung on the wall in a place convenient for the user, so that the treated air does not go out to the permanent residence of a person.
The necessary size of the indoor unit of the air conditioner is selected relative to the roomy capacity of the room. Each manufacturer has a line of large-sized, standard and even reduced climate control devices.
The concept of the size of the indoor unit of the air conditioner includes such quantities as:
- height;
- width;
- depth.
The minimum height can be about 24-25 cm, width - 70-74 cm, and depth - 18-19 cm. For example, a company Gree produces a series of wall-mounted splits with an internal block depth of only 18 cm, which greatly expands the possibility of installing such a device at various points in the room.
The maximum height of a wall-mounted indoor module can be up to 30-32 cm, width - 110-120 cm, and depth - about 30 cm. For example, the company MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC produces a series of inverter splits with exactly these parameters.
If the indoor unit of the air conditioner has a non-standard design, for example, it is assumed to be vertical in the room, then these parameters can vary greatly.
As a rule, air conditioners, and not only wall-mounted ones, have a direct dependence on the size of the indoor unit on its internal structure, or rather, on the dimensions of the heat exchanger and the space for blowing it with air. The smaller they are, the smaller the device, and the worse the performance.
Some manufacturers maintain normal performance while reducing the size by increasing the fan speed, but there is a new drawback - increased noise. This is of utmost importance when choosing an air conditioner in an apartment. This trouble can be avoided by lowering the air flow. Although in any case, a very powerful split cannot have a small internal module.
Today, some manufacturers turned their attention to the production of non-standard indoor modules for wall-type splits. For example, LG in the ARTCOOL series offers square devices with the ability to change the picture on the case, and CARRIER I was surprised by the output of the vertical indoor unit of the air conditioner with non-standard air distribution in two directions, which is more typical of floor-to-ceiling models. This is not the first year that GREE has been offering angle instruments, but it is difficult to find them in Russia.
As a rule, both the vertical indoor unit of the air conditioner, and the corner, and square buyers prefer either because of space saving, or purely from design preferences.
Semi-industrial air conditioners and their sizes
The remaining types of the indoor unit of the air conditioner are classified as semi-industrial equipment, but low-power models of such devices can be installed in ordinary apartments.
The cassette module has square shapes and fits easily into the cell of the suspended ceiling. Its dimensions can be 600 × 600 mm or 800 × 800 mm, although some manufacturers produce a series of super compact cassettes with dimensions of 500 × 500 mm.
Along with cassette indoor modules, duct devices, which are a hybrid of a supply unit and an air conditioner, are sewn into a false ceiling (or wall). They not only cool the room, but also can freely update room air by mixing street air with the help of additional equipment - a supply unit. For both types of these climate control units, only distribution grilles are visible from the outside.
The only drawback is that they require a ceiling space of at least 30 cm for installation.
Columned air conditioners look like an elongated cabinet. They are located in large rooms on the floor where greater cooling capacity is required.Their dimensions significantly exceed the dimensions of any wall model, but this is a necessity, since it is impossible to achieve such power in a different way.
Floor and ceiling splits are quite compact and at the same time quite productive for rooms up to 100-120 m². Their internal unit resembles a modern radiator in shape. They are easy to care and use. The main advantage is two ways of attaching such an indoor unit: to the wall and to the ceiling. If the module is hung on the wall just above the floor, then the airflow goes in two directions, capturing even the most difficult and inaccessible sections of the room. That's why floor-to-ceiling models like to be mounted in rooms with a complex configuration.
Air conditioner specifications
Not only the design, but also the technical characteristics of the indoor unit of the air conditioner determine the purchase of a particular system. After all, depending on how correctly they were picked up, the device will either work properly, or quickly use up its potential.
What are the main technical characteristics that are important when selecting an indoor unit for an air conditioner? We look at the example of the LG air conditioner ART COOL GALLERY series.
| Model | Power consumption kW | Cooling power, kW | Heating power, kW | Air Consumption, m³ / hour | Dimensions (W × D × H), mm | Recommended area, m² |
| A09AW1 | 0,92/0,83 | 2,64 | 2,73 | 450 | 600×146×600 | 20-25 |
For each manufacturer, this data can be supplemented with other parameters, so the technical characteristics of the indoor unit of the air conditioner are usually looked either on the nameplate or in the user manual.
Conclusion: any indoor unit is endowed with cooling and heating power (kW), electricity consumption (kW), air flow (m³ / h), as well as certain sizes and weights.
With power consumption, the issue is a bit complicated by the fact that it may not be indicated specifically for the indoor unit. More often in the characteristics they write the consumption parameters in general for the split system, while it consumes much less than the external device - on average 100-200 watts.
Features of installing an air conditioner
Mounting a wall-mounted indoor module can be very diverse. Most often, the unit is fixed to the right or left of the window and as close as possible to the outside, so that the length of the route does not exceed the recommended length of 5 meters. If, if necessary, these values are increased, then the trunk is sewn up in a stroba in the wall or neatly placed in a decorative plastic box along with the rest of the connecting communications.
Other types of indoor units are mounted in designated areas:
- channel - in the suspended structure of the ceiling of the room or, in order to avoid noise, in the non-residential premises - in the pantry, corridor, restroom;
- cassette - in the suspended structure of the ceiling so that the airflow from the grill does not go to the places where people are, but to the unused zone;
- floor and ceiling - on the wall 15-20 cm from the floor or on the ceiling in a place from where air will disperse over the entire surface;
- columned - on a flat, solid floor.
Direct rays of the sun should not fall on the indoor unit, any influence of heat sources on it is also excluded.
Indoor air conditioning unit on the loggia
Sometimes the customer may require the installation of the indoor unit of the air conditioner on the loggia, explaining this by the fear of a cold, limited space in the room, unwillingness to ditch the wall or have a long track packed in a box. Another reason for such a request may be the inability to find a zone in a room that residents would not use. This happens when people are crowded in the same room.
Is it possible to install the air conditioning unit on the loggia, if so, what requirements should be taken into account?
- Prevents the ingress of warm air through the window and cracks under it. Glasses are hung with thick curtains, and the walls are sealed;
- It is necessary to remove the door and window openings between the living area and the loggia so that the treated air circulates freely throughout the territory;
- Prefer inverter models, so that under heavy load (and it will be mandatory with this arrangement of the device), the compressor does not work in a constant start-stop mode;
- Power in the cold is taken with a good margin, since in order to reach 22 ° C in the room on the loggia you will have to set 18 ° C.
Even if the required conditions are met, problems occur regularly. Firstly, the temperature difference will still be felt. Simply put, there will be a north pole on the loggia, while the room will only get a little cooler. Secondly, the potential of even an inverter will still be consumed much faster.
Competent specialists will never advise installing an indoor unit from the air conditioner on the loggia, based on all of the above items.
How to mount the air conditioner to a wall or ceiling
Depending on the type of indoor unit, there are two types of attachment to a wall or ceiling. Household split systems are hung on mounting plates. This happens as follows:
- holes are drilled in the wall;
- dowels are inserted into them;
- the mounting plate is screwed;
- air conditioning is hung on it.
Thus, the indoor unit is fixed to the wall only for wall models. Commercial modules are fixed with special studs according to another scheme:
- mark the places of fastenings on the ceiling;
- drill holes;
- insert collet fasteners;
- they screw the studs into them;
- a block is hung on the studs;
- tighten the nuts.
It is worth remembering that the installation of duct systems with air ducts is carried out at the stage of construction and repair work. The remaining splits can be installed at any time.
Schematic diagram of the air conditioner
For the correct installation of the internal module, the electrical circuits of the air conditioner are used, on which all inter-unit connections and their connection points are indicated. It is impossible to carry out installation without them, since there is no single circuit, and for different types of modules they are completely different. The same goes for on / off and inverter splits.
For each manufacturer, the layout of the indoor unit of the same type can vary greatly, therefore only the one that is included in the manual by the manufacturer is used.
Maintenance and troubleshooting of the air conditioner
Each split system needs regular maintenance, which involves cleaning the blocks from external and internal contaminants, as well as troubleshooting and refilling with freon as necessary.
Is it possible to clean the indoor unit of the air conditioner at home somehow? Yes, this is real, but undesirable, as an inexperienced user can damage any part of the device. If, after all, there is no way to call the master, then the person must know how to disassemble the indoor unit of the air conditioner to wash the filters, fan and heat exchanger.
First, the decorative panel is removed, for this they click on the latches on the sides, and the housing cover easily moves away. Then carefully remove the filters, fan, tray for collecting condensate and rinse them under running water. Wipe the heat exchanger with a damp cloth, as it is a stationary part. After cleaning, all elements are wiped dry and set back.
At the end of the article you can watch a video on how to disassemble the indoor unit of the air conditioner and how to clean it without the help of specialists.
To carry out these actions, you will need a soft microfiber rag and a special foam for cleaning split systems.
Even if there are no problems with how to clean and disassemble the indoor unit of the air conditioner, the user himself will not be able to refuel and diagnose, so you will have to call specialists who have professional equipment and materials.
In what cases may the assistance of a wizard still be required? Users should be alert for such moments as:
- poor cooling;
- unusual noises and vibrations;
- block freezing;
- inability to turn on the air conditioner;
- device goes into trouble code mode.
Many users are wondering why the indoor unit of the air conditioner is freezing, and how serious it is. Such a sign suggests that:
- in the split system there is not enough freon;
- severe contamination of some work units and filters;
- the device is used at an unacceptable temperature.
By measuring the working pressure, the wizard will immediately determine if the system is actually not enough freon. Contaminated internal elements can be seen on their own by removing the housing cover. Also, the cause of freezing of the indoor unit of the air conditioner can be a too long track, which the installers simply did not refuel during installation.
If any deviations are noticed in the work of a split system of any type, you should immediately invite a specialist.
