Patent ID: 6843425

Claim:
An air conditioner comprising: a plurality of compressors for compressing a refrigerant; an outdoor heat exchanger installed outdoors so as to be connected to the compressors, and so as to heat-exchange the refrigerant with outdoor air; an indoor heat exchanger installed indoors so as to be connected to the outdoor heat exchanger, and so as to heat-exchange the refrigerant with indoor air; a temperature sensor installed outdoors adjacent to the outdoor heat exchanger for sensing an outdoor temperature (T); a comparison unit that compares the sensed outdoor temperature (T) to a predetermined temperature (T 1 ); and a controller that determines a magnitude of a heating load, and that operates all of the plural compressors when the outdoor temperature (T) is not higher than the predetermined temperature (T 1 ) or when the outdoor temperature (T) is higher than the predetermined temperature (T 1 ) and the heating load is equal to or larger than a predetermined value, and that operates fewer than all of the plural compressors when the outdoor temperature (T) is higher than the predetermined temperature (T 1 ) and the heating load is smaller than the predetermined value.