An evaporator coil is the part of an air conditioner or heat pump that absorbs the heat from the air in your house. It is located inside the air handler or attached to the furnace.
How the evaporator and condenser coils work together
The evaporator and condenser coils inside a central air conditioner or heat pump make it possible for these systems to complete the heat exchange process, which is the basis of refrigerated cooling and, in the case of heat pumps, heating. The coils form a loop and, even though they’re continuous, each has a different function.
The role of the evaporator coil
Located inside the blower compartment or air handler, the evaporator coil holds the chilled refrigerant that the compressor moves into it.
As the air from the blower fan moves over the coil, the cold refrigerant removes the heat from your home’s air. The refrigerant becomes warmer and travels to the condenser coil outdoors.
With a heat pump, the process reverses in the winter and the evaporator coil expels heat from the refrigerant into your home, instead of absorbing it and taking it outdoors. Most heat pumps have auxiliary heating elements that are part of the evaporator coil components to supply heat when temperatures fall below a certain point.
