AIR CONDITIONER AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE SAME

摘要

The present invention relates to a method for controlling an air conditioner which includes: an outdoor unit having a compressor which can change capacity; and a plurality of indoor units each which has a temperature detecting unit for detecting temperature of an indoor area for air conditioning and an input unit for being inputted with setting temperature of the indoor area. The method for controlling the air conditioner comprises the steps of: determining whether or not an operation start command is inputted from at least one of the indoor units; receiving indoor temperature and setting temperature from at least one of the indoor units when it is determined that the operation start command is inputted from at least one of the indoor units; operating the compressor based on the indoor temperature and setting temperature from at least one of the indoor units; checking thermal load while the compressor is operated; determining an operation frequency of the compressor corresponding to the checked thermal load; and changing the operation frequency of the compressor into the determined operation frequency, thereby varying capacity of the compressor. The present invention can avoid supercooling and superheating by checking the indoor thermal load and controlling capacity of the air conditioner based on the checked thermal load. Moreover, the present invention reduces the capacity of the air conditioner by changing the operation frequency of the compressor in the air conditioner when the indoor thermal load is small, thereby reducing power consumption. As a result, the present invention can improve efficiency of the air conditioner.