What does a condenser coil do?
The purpose of the condensing unit, (outdoor portion of an air conditioning system,) is to reject heat that was removed from the interior space. The factors having the greatest impact on the efficiency of this effort are: The difference between the outdoor temperature and the coil temperature. And, the amount of coil surface area available for heat transfer to take place. Once the unit is installed there is little that can be done to reduce the temperature surrounding the unit. There is something that can be done however to insure the maximum amount of surface area available for heat transfer to take place. Is a dirty coil that big of a problem? Unlike the evaporator coil, the condenser coil is exposed to unfiltered outdoor air—so it suffers much greater degradation due to dirt. The fan inside the condenser coil pulls air through the fins, and as a result, also pulls dirt and debris with it. Dust, leaves, grass clippings, pet hair, and anything else that collects on the fins will block
