How Does the Outside Portion of Your AC Work?

If you have a central heating system, you know that it consists of only one unit, located somewhere inside of your home. An air conditioner, however, has two connected units that make up the whole system, and one is located outdoors. Learn why this is and what’s included in the outside unit from the guide below. And call our team for more information!

The Need for an Outside Unit

You need an indoor unit because it sucks in air from your home to cool it down and send it through the air ducts. So why would you need a large outdoor unit as part of this system? For one, your outdoor system is quite loud, something you’ve likely noticed, so it’s a good thing it’s designed to be outdoors. But mostly it’s located there because if the entire system was inside, it would do you no good. You cannot really “produce” cooling as you can with heat. It’s not a thermal energy, but a lack of heat. So if you remove heat from a space, you can cool it down. That’s how a central air conditioner works. It removes heat from the air in your home—and that heat needs somewhere to go. If it went back inside of your home, the process would be pointless. The outside unit gives the heat a place to dissipate.

Condenser Unit Parts

The outside unit of an air conditioning system is often called the condenser unit because the condenser plays a key role in how it works. Check out all of the most important parts.

Compressor – Refrigerant plays a key role in the cooling process, with the ability to absorb a lot of heat under the right pressure as it turns into a gas and then release heat as it condenses. The compressor adds pressure to the refrigerant so it can continue to cycle throughout the system.
Condenser coil – Refrigerant runs through the condenser coil as it condenses—turns to a liquid. As it condenses, heat naturally dissipates into the air.
Fan – The large fan inside of the condenser unit helps with a couple of things. It assists in the condensing process and it also helps heat to move away from the unit.

Call Air Mechanical, Inc. for more information or to schedule AC service in Andover, MN.