Principle of Operation: Condensation

Condensation is the reverse of evaporation. In condensation, a vapor changes to a liquid. Removing heat causes a vapor to condense to a liquid.

The task of an air conditioning system is to absorb a large amount of heat, move it away from the passenger compartment, and exhaust it. When the refrigerant in the A/C system evaporates, it absorbs a large amount of heat from the air entering the passenger compartment.

As the refrigerant vapor is pumped outside the passenger compartment, it transports this heat with it. When the refrigerant condenses back into a liquid, this heat is released.