If you’re like the average homeowner, you likely don’t give a whole lot of thought to the outside component of your air conditioning system. However, this outside unit—known as your condenser unit—plays an essential role in the cooling process. Without it, your air conditioner simply could not function. When something does go wrong, you can count on us for quality Nichols Hills, OK air conditioning services, but in the meantime we’d like to help you understand the function of the condenser unit.
While the inside unit of your cooling system absorbs heat from your home’s air, the condenser unit is in charge of releasing that heat to the air outside. Without this system, the warm air from your home would have nowhere to go. The unit works in combination with a variety of other components so that your air conditioner will function as it should, which we’ve covered below.
The Compressor: This essentially serves at the “heart” of your entire air conditioning system. It adds pressure to the refrigerant that it receives from inside your home, in order to increase the refrigerant’s temperature. This makes it easier to transfer heat in the following step of the cooling process, which utilizes the condenser coils and fans.
Coils and Fans: Speaking of coils and fans, these are important components! After the refrigerant exits the compressor, it flows through the system’s condenser coils. As this occurs, a fan blows air over the coils to cool them off and release the heat to the air outdoors.
Refrigerant Lines: The refrigerant lines are what connects your outside condenser unit to the indoor unit, in order to cycle the heat transferring refrigerant and continue the cooling process.
Caring for Your Condenser
An important factor to remember in regards to your condenser unit is that because it’s outside, and constantly exposed to the elements, you’ll need to take very good care of it. This means in addition to having it checked out during maintenance, you’ll want to protect it from the buildup of dirt and debris. Routine care is essential to making sure that all your cooling systems’ component work as they should.
This means that throughout the year—not just when summer hits—you should check the area around the condenser unit for debris such as lawn clippings, mulch, dirt, leaves, and even overgrown tree roots or shrubs. Doing this will help airflow, and help your cooling system run as efficiently and effectively as it should.
Another important factor to remember is if you’ve been advised that your condenser unit needs replacement, it might be more economically beneficial to replace the entire system. In fact, it almost always does.
The reason for this is because mismatched AC equipment can cause way more problems down the road and you could be stuck with a prematurely broken down air conditioner as a result. If the indoor and outdoor units are not appropriately matched, it can create undue stress on the entire system.
At Comfort Incorporated, we keep your family safe, healthy and comfortable–call today, service today!
