Commercial Air Conditioning and Residential Air Conditioning – What is the Difference?

by Divyam

May 23, 2022

AC, Appliances

Commercial air conditioning systems are used in large commercial and industrial buildings. Residential air conditioning systems are used in homes and small businesses. Read more below.

What is an AC (Air Conditioner)?

We use Air Conditioners a lot, but we don’t know what they really do. An air conditioner is a system that throws cool air into a room by taking in heat and humidity in the room.

How does an Air Conditioner work?

Firstly, the system takes in warm air from the room.
Then the warm air flows over the cold evaporator inside the system which cools down the air and the dehumidifier removes excess moisture from the air.
The coolant present in chiller pipes absorbs the heat and evaporates it. Turning cold liquid into warm gas.
This warm air is pumped outside and the coolant flows through the compressor unit and the condenser turns it back into a cool liquid.
Cold air is then recirculated into the room, mixing it with air present in the room, cooling down the temperature.

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Types of Air Conditioners

Residential Air Conditioning

What is a Residential Air Conditioner?

Air conditioners that are used in houses for air conditioning in our house are called residential air conditioners. They are bigger in size and need more care.

Commercial Air Conditioning

What is a Commercial Air Conditioner?

Air conditioners used in commercial places such as offices, shopping malls, and hospitals are called commercial air conditioners. They are usually average size, size depending on the area to be cooled.

Difference Between Residential and Commercial Air Conditioning?

Size – Residential air conditioning systems are smaller than commercial air conditioning systems, because commercial places are generally bigger than residential areas, so a bigger Air Conditioning system would be required to make the place cooler.
Placement – Generally, condensers of Residential air conditioning systems are installed alongside the building or in the backyard, but in commercial systems, it is installed on the roof of the building which saves a lot of space and noise from coming inside the building.
Drainage System – The drainage system in Commercial Air conditioners are generally bigger because they cool larger areas, so additional moisture is cycling through the system. Whereas, in residential air conditioning systems lesser space is cooled and so the moisture in the system is less.
Maintenance and Installation – Installing a commercial air conditioner costs a lot and highly skilled technicians are required to ensure perfect and safe installation of the system and maintenance of these systems is also costly and Residential Air Conditioners.
Capacity – The power capacity of Residential ACs ranges from 2kW to 25kW. The size of commercial units is usually bigger, so their power capacity ranges from 10kW – to 100kW.
Features – Residential systems have comparatively more features than Commercial systems because commercial places only need a controlled temperature, not much more features.
Life Span – Larger systems are expected to have a longer life span, so commercial systems have a longer lifespan than Residential systems.
Components – ACs at home use regular parts and some manufacturer-specific parts. Commercial systems need genuine and high-quality parts because they tend for longer use.