Most homeowners know very little about how the air conditioner that keeps their house cool works. There’s no problem with this; that’s the reason we have highly trained professionals to take care of any issues an AC might encounter, as well as to handle installation and maintenance work. However, a bit of knowledge can always come in handy, and in this post we are going to shed some light on one of the most crucial components in your home’s cooling system: the evaporator coil.
If you need fast repairs for your home’s air conditioning, call the team that has served Burlington, VT with quality AC work for more than 23 years: Red Rock Mechanical.
What the evaporator coil is and what it does
The standard split system central air conditioner—the type that most likely is installed in your home—has an indoor and an outdoor unit. The outdoor unit is called the condenser, and it is where heat is exhausted to the outside. The indoor unit is called the evaporator, and it is where heat is absorbed. The location where the heat absorption occurs is the evaporator coil.
The coil consists of narrow pipes that carry refrigerant. The refrigerant that enters the coil has already released heat to the outside and then passed through an expansion valve to further lower its heat and pressure. The refrigerant that moves through the coil is a cold liquid at this point. The blower fan in the air handler attached to the evaporator sends warm indoor air across the cold coil. Evaporation occurs, a process that draws heat (as well as moisture) out of the air. The air cools down, and this is what is sent to the vents around the house. Moisture condenses along the coil and drips down into a condensate pan where it is drained away.
The coil must remain clean in order to correctly do its job. During regular maintenance, technicians will see that the coil is free of grime so it can carry out evaporation. If ice starts to develop along the evaporator coil, it can mean a loss of refrigerant or a dirty coil. Whatever the problem, the development of ice will reduce the evaporator coil’s ability to siphon heat and lower the AC’s performance.
Should you notice any sign that the evaporator coil is struggling, or any indication of AC problems, give Red Rock Mechanical a call. We are ready 24 hours a day for emergency repairs.
