There are a few air conditioning systems available including central air conditioning, ductless air conditioning, window AC units, portable air conditioners, and geothermal. They all operate on the same principle of cycling cool air into the property and filtering warm air out of the property.
Air conditioning in a central system distributes cool air through air ducts, through a process that draws out the warm air and extracts its heat.
The compressor condenses and circulates the refrigerant through the part of the system that is outside, which changes the refrigerant from gas to liquid. The liquid is then pushed through the evaporator coil/cooling compartment located inside. An interior fan then circulates the inside air to flow over the evaporator fins. These fins exchange thermal energy with the air. Then the refrigerant transforms from a liquid into vapor and removes heat from the air. When the air is cooled, it is then blown back into the property.
Then, the outdoor condenser unit turns the refrigerant vapor back into a liquid, which removes any heat. By the time the liquid exits the evaporator again, it is a cool, low-pressure gas that eventually returns to the condenser where it begins the process again. This cycle keeps repeating until the property reaches the cooling temperature set by the thermostat.