Air Conditioning Repair Certification (ETI) Practice Exam

An air conditioner provides cooling primarily by cycling refrigerant through evaporator and condenser coils. In the evaporator coil, the refrigerant absorbs heat from the indoor air, causing it to evaporate and turn into a gas. This process cools the air that is then circulated back into the living space. Meanwhile, the compressor moves the gaseous refrigerant to the condenser coil, where it releases the absorbed heat to the outside air, condensing back into a liquid. This continuous cycle of absorbing heat indoors and releasing it outdoors effectively lowers the temperature in the space being cooled.

Using a heat pump refers to a specific type of system that can provide both heating and cooling by reversing the refrigerant flow, but it is not the primary mechanism of cooling for all air conditioners. Injecting cool air into the space does not accurately describe the cooling process; instead, it is the removal of heat that reduces the temperature. Filtering dust and debris is an important function for maintaining air quality but does not directly contribute to the cooling process itself.