An air conditioner's evaporator is what pulls the heat out of the air, but it works in conjunction with the AC condenser. To understand how the evaporator works, it is helpful to understand the condenser and how they work together.
AC Condenser
The air conditioning condenser consists of the compressor pump and condenser coils. The condenser coils are packed with coolant, filling them with a great deal of pressure.
Evaporator
The evaporator has a lot less pressure than the condenser. Fluids naturally want to move from areas of high to lower pressure, so the coolant moves into the evaporator from the high-pressured condenser. A small nozzle between the evaporator and condenser helps to control the amount of coolant that goes into the evaporator. The AC fan pulls air into the system, and the coolant absorbs the heat from the air.
The Entire Cycle
Because the coolant absorbs heat in the evaporator, it starts heating up as well. The AC recycles the coolant by pushing the gas form back into the condenser to be cooled back into a liquid. On central air systems, and single units with thermostats, the AC detects when the surrounding air has reached the desired temperature. Once the desired temperature is reached, the compressor shuts off to stop the flow of coolant.
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