The outside fan of an air conditioner, also known as the condenser fan, plays a critical role in the cooling process. The air conditioner operates using a refrigeration cycle, and the outside fan is a crucial component of this cycle. Its primary function is to help dissipate the heat that has been absorbed from the indoor air and release it outside, thus facilitating the cooling of the indoor space.
Here's how it works:
Heat Transfer: When the air conditioner is in cooling mode, the refrigerant inside the system absorbs heat from the indoor air through the evaporator coil, turning it into a cold, low-pressure gas.
Compression: The refrigerant then goes through a compressor, where it gets compressed into a hot, high-pressure gas.
Condensation: The hot refrigerant gas flows to the condenser coil, which is located in the outdoor unit. The outside fan is positioned next to the condenser coil.
Heat Release: The outside fan draws in ambient air from the surroundings and directs it over the condenser coil. As the hot refrigerant gas passes through the condenser coil, it releases its heat to the outside air.
Cooling: As the heat dissipates into the outdoor air, the refrigerant undergoes a phase change from a gas to a high-pressure liquid.
Expansion: The high-pressure liquid refrigerant moves back inside to the indoor unit and goes through an expansion valve, where it expands and transforms into a cold, low-pressure liquid.
Evaporation: The cold refrigerant now circulates through the evaporator coil inside the indoor unit. As warm indoor air passes over the cold evaporator coil, the refrigerant absorbs heat from the air, cooling it down, and turning itself into a low-pressure gas once again.
Air Circulation: The indoor fan blows this cooled air back into the living space, thus lowering the indoor temperature.
This continuous cycle repeats to maintain the desired indoor temperature. Without the outside fan to help dissipate the heat from the condenser coil, the air conditioning system would not be able to efficiently cool the indoor air, and the cooling process would become ineffective. The outside fan, therefore, plays a crucial role in the overall cooling performance of the air conditioner.