The AC (Air Conditioning) condenser coil and evaporator coil are two integral components in a central air conditioning system, each with distinct functions and locations within the system. Here’s a summary of the key differences between them:
- Location:
- Condenser Coil: The condenser coil is located in the outdoor unit of the AC system. It is exposed to the external environment and is responsible for releasing heat absorbed from the indoor air.
- Evaporator Coil: The evaporator coil is situated within the indoor unit, typically installed in the furnace or air handler. It is responsible for absorbing heat from indoor air to facilitate cooling.
- Function:
- Condenser Coil: The primary function of the condenser coil is to release heat. It receives high-pressure, high-temperature refrigerant vapor from the compressor and condenses it into a high-pressure liquid by dissipating heat to the outside air.
- Evaporator Coil: The evaporator coil’s primary function is to absorb heat. It receives low-pressure, low-temperature liquid refrigerant and evaporates it into a low-pressure gas by absorbing heat from indoor air.
- Heat Exchange:
- Condenser Coil: The condenser coil releases heat to the external environment, allowing the refrigerant to return to a liquid state. This heat release is what expels warm air from your home.
- Evaporator Coil: The evaporator coil absorbs heat from the indoor air, cooling it down before the cooled air is circulated throughout your home.
- Temperature and Pressure:
- Condenser Coil: This coil operates at high temperatures and high pressures to facilitate the release of heat.
- Evaporator Coil: The evaporator coil operates at lower temperatures and lower pressures as it absorbs heat from the indoor air.
- Maintenance:
- Condenser Coil: The condenser coil is exposed to the elements and can accumulate dirt, debris, and other contaminants. Regular cleaning and maintenance are necessary to ensure its efficiency.
- Evaporator Coil: The evaporator coil is located indoors and is less prone to outdoor debris. However, it can accumulate dust and dirt from indoor air, necessitating regular maintenance and filter changes.
- Sizing: Both coils must be properly sized to match the capacity of the AC system for optimal efficiency and cooling performance.
| Feature | ABS | PVC |
|---|---|---|
| BPA | YES | NO |
| Flexibility | Rigid | Flexible |
| Installation | 1 step | 2 steps |
| Likely to free | NO | YES |
| Shock resistance | High | Lower |
| Restrictions | Yes | NO |
| Color | Black | White |
| Will warp | YES | NO |
| Noise muffling | NO | YES |
Condenser Coil vs Evaporator Coil
As I have mentioned, both evaporator and condenser coils are heat exchangers. In thermodynamics (heat exchange), heat is transferred from a point of high concentration to a point of low concentration.
The above is actually the operating principle behind air conditioning and refrigeration. To achieve that, a refrigerant is needed.
Ideally, a good refrigerant should have a low boiling point. That means that it is able to turn from gas to liquid and back to gas again easily.
When a fluid turns from liquid to gas, the process is called evaporation. It means that the liquid has gained enough heat to vaporize. And that is what happens inside the evaporator coil.
When a liquid evaporates, it takes away heat from its surrounding (latent heat of vaporization). This is exactly what happens when we sweat.
When a fluid turns from gas to liquid, the process is called condensation. It means that the gas has lost enough heat and hence it changes to its liquid state. And that is what happens inside the condenser coil.
For a long term, Freon (R-22) was the refrigerant of choice. It was later discovered that Freon contributed to global warming and hence it was phased out completely in 2020. R-410A is currently the refrigerant of choice.
Let us now look at the differences between condenser and evaporator coils in more details including how they work.
The Condenser Coil
The condenser coil and the compressor form what is known as the outside unit or simply the condenser unit. Since the condenser coil takes the shape of a cube, it means that its inside is hollow.
The compressor is located at the bottom while the condenser fan can be seen at the top of the unit. Condenser coils come in different sizes depending on your house size and air conditioning needs.
A condenser coil is basically copper coils wound into a cube over and over. The reason for having that many coils compacted together is to increases the surface area for heat exchange.
Each part of the coil is in contact with the surrounding air. As the refrigerant moves round the coil, it loses heat to the surrounding air with the help of the fan.
Before the refrigerant enters the condenser coil, it first passes through the compressor. All the AC components are connected using copper tubes.
The refrigerant moves from the compressor to the condenser coil then to the evaporator coil before going back to the compressor. The cycle is repeated again and again until the house is properly cooled.
A compressor functions exactly like a pump. As its name implies, it compresses the refrigerant gas before it enters the condenser coil.
The compressor apart from increasing the pressure of the refrigerant has another very important function. You see, the refrigerant entering the compressor contains heat absorbed from the indoor air.
That heat needs to be released to the outside but there is a problem. It’s during summer so the outside temperature is high as well. As I mentioned earlier, for heat transfer to take place, there must be a temperature differential.
And that is where the compressor comes in. When you compress a fluid, its pressure increases but that is not the only thing that happens. Its temperature also increases drastically.
As such, the refrigerant enters the condenser coil as a high-pressure superheated gas. At that point, the temperature of the refrigerant is higher than that of the surrounding air and hence heat transfer can now take place.
The condenser fan blows air over the coil which absorbs heat from refrigerant and by the time it is exiting the condenser it will have lost so much heat that it will have turned into a liquid.
The outer shell of a condenser unit is made up of fins similar to those of a car radiator. These fins are critical in the dissipation of heat to the surrounding.
The Evaporator Coil
As I has mentioned earlier, the evaporator coil is also known as the indoor unit. If you have a central air conditioner, the evaporator coil will be hidden somewhere inside the house.
On the other hand, if you have a ductless mini-splits air conditioner, the evaporator will most likely be mounted on your wall or ceiling. In that case, each room that needs to be cooled will have its own evaporator coil.
Central air conditioners have only one evaporator coil connected to the different rooms using air ducts. Check out more differences between central air conditioners and mini-splits in this post.
The refrigerant does not enter the evaporator coil straight from the condenser coil. It has to first go through an expansion valve.
An expansion valve is simply a small restriction that controls the amount of refrigerant flowing through it and entering the evaporator coil. You see, when too much refrigerant enters the coil, not all of it will vaporize meaning that some refrigerant will enter the compressor in liquid state.
A compressor is only designed to handle the refrigerant in its gas state. A liquid refrigerant will therefore damage the compressor.
Apart from that, the expansion valve also lowers the pressure of the refrigerant. But why is it important to lower the temperature of the refrigerant?
You see, although the refrigerant is in its liquid state, it is still not as cold as it needs to be in order to cool the indoor air. I said that increasing the pressure of a fluid increases its temperature as well, but the opposite is also true.
By forcing the refrigerant through a restriction, its pressure will decrease and its temperature will also fall dramatically.
Inside the evaporator (assuming you have a central air conditioner), the fan will pull warm air from the house using return air ducts. When the air comes into contact with the cold coil, it will lose the heat to the refrigerant.
The cooled air will then be supplied to the house using supply air ducts. By the time the refrigerant is exiting the evaporator, it will have turned to its gas state and ready for another cycle.
Can a Condenser be used as an Evaporator?
In air conditioning, a condenser coil cannot be used as an evaporator coil. The reason for that is because a condenser coil is designed to handle a high-pressure refrigerant gas while an evaporator coil is designed to handle a low pressure refrigerant liquid.
Having said that, I must also add that it is indeed possible for a condenser to be used as an evaporator with a few tweaks of the HVAC system. That is manifested in how a heat pump works.
When used for cooling, a heat pump works exactly like an air conditioner. The refrigerant moves from the compressor to the condenser coil and then to the evaporator coil.
The process is however different when the heat pump is used to heat the house. You see, during winter, the heat pump system needs to extract heat from the outside, which is opposite of what happens during the summer.
For that to happen though, the direction of flow of the refrigerant has to change. Heat pumps therefore have a reversing valve.
The reversing valve ensures that the refrigerant flows from the compressor to the evaporator and then to the condenser coil.
As such, instead of the high-pressure superheated gas flowing to the condenser coil, it flows to the evaporator coil inside the house. The cold indoor air absorbs heat from the refrigerant and that is how the house is heated.
The refrigerant is then passed through expansion valves where its temperature is reduced way more than the outside temperature. Due to that temperature differential, the refrigerant can extract heat from the surrounding air (at the condenser coil) which is then used to heat the house.
In this case, you can see that the condenser coil is being used as an evaporator coil while the evaporator coil is being used as a condenser coil.
Wrap Up
And basically those are the differences between an evaporator coil and and condenser coil. I hope you found this guide useful.