An air conditioner can often seem like a magical device. We understand how we get heat from furnaces and fireplaces—combustion gives off warmth. But an AC is a box or set of boxes that somehow creates cool air, the opposite of fire. Because an air conditioner can feel like a remarkable device, people might treat them as if they don’t have limits. They can cool a house down as much as necessary.
Of course, air conditioners aren’t magic, and they do have limits. An AC cools a house by moving heat from the indoor air and exhausting it outside, and there is a capacity to how much heat an air conditioner can draw from a house. We’re going to talk about the limits of your air conditioning system and how it affects the way you cool your home.