How Refrigerant Passes Through the System

You should be familiar with the fact that your air conditioning “system” is actually made up of two separate units (an air handler or indoor door and an outside unit) but what about the liquid refrigerant? Where does it come from and how does it cycle through your air conditioning and heating system? In this article you will gain a thorough understanding of how the refrigerant passes through your air conditioning and heating system. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Air Repair Inc. at 972-625-1400.

During the cooling process of your air conditioning system, the refrigerant that is passing through the air conditioning system boils and turns into a vapor. Once a vapor, the refrigerant then cools back down and condenses back into a liquid.

Refrigerant Cycle:

As you will see in the diagram starting at the compressor the refrigerant and temperature increases. The refrigerant passes through the condenser coil as the heat is transferred to the medium.

The refrigerant is then changed from a gas into a high pressure liquid by a cooling process. This is similar to as if you had cooled steam and changed it back to water. The liquid is metered so that the amount of refrigerant is regulated back to a small amount directly into the evaporator coil.

As the refrigerant absorbs heat from the air flowing through the coil it changes back into a gas or vapor just as if you heated that water back up to make steam.

Keep in mind when it changes state from a liquid to a vapor it absorbs alot of heat just like water. The gas refrigerant is then returned back the compressor to be pressurized all over again.

At Air Repair Inc., we hope that have an even greater understanding of your air conditioning system. However, if we can assist you in any way, please contact us at 972-625-1400.