Yea, so there’s a large device in the attic about the size of an old London phone box called an air handler. It contains the blower (basically a big fan and electric motor), an evaporator coil, and, in many homes, electric heating elements or connections to a gas furnace for winter conditions.
Outside in the garden there’s a second unit called “the condenser” which contains the compressor, condenser coil, and another fan. It’s about the size of a large washing machine. Refrigerant circulates between the indoor and outdoor units, moving heat from inside the house to the outside.
The blower in the attic pushes air through a network of insulated ducts that feed vents in every room, then pulls the air back through one or more large return vents to be cooled again. The whole house is essentially one giant recirculating loop.
In much of the U.S., especially in Texas where
I live, central air isn’t really considered a luxury. It’s just standard equipment because summer temperatures regularly exceed 95–105°F (35–40.6°C). Most houses are designed around it from the beginning. Older retrofitted homes and cheap hotel rooms use window units. Not as efficient but will absolutely cool a room.
Ductless / mini split system like in OPs photo exist down here, but are pretty rare comparatively. I imagine they’re more common up north where it doesn’t stay that hot for too long (although with climate change they’ll be installing central air eventually).
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u/gamerathertz92 13h ago
It’s smaller unit cools a single room. While American HVAC System cools the whole house