Refrigeration cycle

For an air conditioning system to operate with economy, the refrigerant must be used repeatedly. For this reason, all air conditioners use the same cycle of compression, condensation, expansion, and evaporation in a closed circuit.

The refrigeration cycle, sometimes called a heat pump cycle, is a means of routing heat away from the area you want to cool. This is accomplished by manipulating the pressure of the working refrigerant (air, water, synthetic refrigerants, etc.) through a cycle of compression and expansion.

For a refrigeration system to work there must be four main components. As mentioned, those are the compressors, condensers, evaporators, and expansion devices. It is very important that all of these components are in place and working effectively.

As the name suggests, the refrigeration process is a cycle. We start at the compressor, go through the condenser, then through the restriction, then through the evaporator and finally back to the compressor where the cycle starts all over again.

This refrigeration cycle combines an Organic Rankine Cycle and a vapour–compression cycle. The cycle can be powered by low grade thermal energy as low as 60 °C and can produce cooling temperature as low as ?10 °C.