To provide an air conditioner of high energy efficiency by reducing in-pipe refrigerant pressure loss of an indoor heat exchanger and a pressure loss in piping connecting an indoor cycle and an outdoor cycle, and improving indoor heat exchanging performance in a cooling operation and a dehumidifying operation, in an air conditioner using a HFO-1234yf refrigerant and having a dehumidifying valve on the way of the piping of the indoor heat exchanger.
In this air conditioner performing cooling, heating and dehumidifying operations by circulating a HFO-1234yf single refrigerant, or a mixed refrigerant prepared by mixing HFO-1234yf and another refrigerant as a working fluid, a gas-liquid separator is disposed at a downstream side of the dehumidifying valve and an upstream side of a second indoor heat exchanger, and a gas refrigerant after gas-liquid separation by the gas-liquid separator is allowed to flow to a suction side of a compressor through a flow rate adjustment valve in a cooling operation. Thus pressure loss of the refrigerant flowing into the indoor heat exchanger and the connection piping is reduced, and cooling performance and dehumidifying performance are improved.
ENDO KAZUHIRO
Yuji Toda
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