Air conditioners rely on many different components to effectively cool your home. The condenser is one of the most important such components. Unfortunately, it's also one of the least understood. The reason for this lack of understanding is that the condenser performs several different tasks while in operation.

The more you know about how your air conditioning system works, the better you can identify potential problems. If you want to learn more about the internal components of an air conditioner, keep reading. This article will introduce you to the three key jobs that an air conditioner condenser performs.

The refrigerant exits the evaporator coil as a gas, drawing heat from your home. This gaseous refrigerant then enters the compressor, which packs it more tightly together, raising its temperature in the process. The job of the condenser involves reducing the temperature of the refrigerant enough to turn it into a liquid.

The first task the condenser must perform is to superheat and cool down. To understand desuperheating, you must first understand a related concept called saturation temperature. Saturation temperature refers to the boiling point of a liquid at a given pressure. Once the liquid reaches its saturation temperature, it begins to turn into a gas.

When the temperature of the gas continues to rise beyond its saturation temperature, the gas is said to be in a superheated state. The refrigerant of the air conditioner is superheated as it flows from the compressor to the condenser. Superheated refrigerant must be cooled to its saturation temperature before it can condense into a liquid.

This initial cooling process is called desuperheating. The gaseous refrigerant passes through the condenser as many times as necessary to remove its superheat.

Once all refrigerant superheats has been removed, the actual condensation process can begin. Condensation involves converting a gaseous refrigerant to a liquid state. The mechanism for this operation is the same as in desuperheating - in other words, the refrigerant continues to circulate through the condenser in multiple channels.

A large number of fins in the condenser allows heat to be transferred to the surrounding air as the refrigerant flows through the condenser. A fan on top of the condenser unit ensures that the heated air cools quickly, allowing the process to continue. When the temperature of the refrigerant falls below its saturation temperature, it automatically begins to turn into a liquid.

After all the refrigerant has been converted into a liquid, it is called a fully saturated liquid. At this point, however, the refrigerant is still very volatile. Even a small increase in temperature can cause part of it to turn back into a gas. This severely limits the potential cooling that a refrigerant can achieve.

The condenser increases the effectiveness of the refrigerant by continuing to cool the refrigerant beyond its saturation temperature. This process, called subcooling, increases the stability of the refrigerant. Therefore, the refrigerant must remain liquid as it continues to return to the evaporator coil in your home.

All air conditioners have predetermined subcooling limits. However, as the system ages, wear makes it harder for the refrigerant to cool to this level. Therefore, your system efficiency will decrease. Fortunately, you can ensure ideal functionality by maintaining your system on a regular basis.

The above briefly introduces the three key functions of the air conditioner condenser. If you want to know more or want to buy air conditioners or air conditioner accessories, please contact us.

ComforPlanet is a professional custom air conditioners and accessories manufacturer. Our products are suitable for many industries, including HVAC, electrical smart small appliances, etc. ComforPlanet is committed to providing you with safe, high-quality, long-lasting HVAC and cost-effective products that allow everyone around the world to breathe clean, comfortable indoor air.