In a refrigeration system, which component rejects heat from the refrigerant to ambient air?

In a refrigeration system, which component rejects heat from the refrigerant to ambient air?

• A. Expansion device
• B. Evaporator
• C. Compressor
• D. Condenser

Answer: (D)

Heat rejection to the surroundings is done by the condenser. In a vapor-compression cycle, the compressor pushes the refrigerant as a hot, high-pressure gas into the condenser. There, heat is transferred from the refrigerant to the ambient air (often with a fan or water cooling), causing the refrigerant to release energy and change phase from gas to liquid. This is how the system dumps the unwanted heat to the outside environment. The evaporator absorbs heat from the cooled space, the expansion device lowers the refrigerant pressure before it enters the evaporator, and the compressor adds work to raise the refrigerant’s pressure and temperature but does not reject heat to ambient.

Heat rejection to the surroundings is done by the condenser. In a vapor-compression cycle, the compressor pushes the refrigerant as a hot, high-pressure gas into the condenser. There, heat is transferred from the refrigerant to the ambient air (often with a fan or water cooling), causing the refrigerant to release energy and change phase from gas to liquid. This is how the system dumps the unwanted heat to the outside environment. The evaporator absorbs heat from the cooled space, the expansion device lowers the refrigerant pressure before it enters the evaporator, and the compressor adds work to raise the refrigerant’s pressure and temperature but does not reject heat to ambient.