Quote:
Originally Posted by ForceMultiplier
Yes...no... Dang, which is it?
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It's easy enough to pull up a google search and wander through a few results, if you want to learn more. Dometic/Marine Air has a lot of good info online.
Basically, like an RV unit it uses refrigerant to transfer heat. Take heat from one place (inside) and transfer it (outside). Leaving the air that remains cooler inside. This confuses some folks. You're not strictly putting cold air into the room. You're taking the air in the room and pulling heat out of it, lowering the temp in the process.
An RV uses air to transfer the heat away. On a boat sea water is used. Pull up sea water, run it through an exchanger that has hot refrigerant running through it, refrigerant that got heated up by being pumped under pressure and run through a unit inside the boat.
Where temperature comes into play is how much heat can be transferred into warmer water while cooling the passing refrigerant enough to make it worthwhile. 70F seawater is going to cool off the refrigerant right-quick, but 90F water won't take as much heat away using the same sized unit. This translates into it taking longer to 'make it cooler' when the water is warmer.