Coils keep your home cool and comfortable
Your AC valve regulates refrigerant flow into the evaporator coil, ensuring the system receives the precise amount needed for efficient cooling and optimal performance.
Expect to pay $100 to $400 for professional coil cleaning or $200 to $600 for inspections, helping you prevent more expensive repairs down the road.
Schedule annual coil cleaning to remove dirt and debris buildup, which helps your HVAC system run efficiently and reduces the risk of refrigerant leaks.
Hiring a local heating and air conditioning professional provides reliable support with coil cleaning, refrigerant leak diagnosis, and system inspections that keep your home comfortable.
It may be sweltering outside, but thanks to your AC coils, you’d hardly even know it from inside your house. You might not be familiar with what they do, but these hard-working heroes of your HVAC system make your home a whole lot more comfortable—even on the hottest days of summer. So, what are AC coils, and how do they work? Let’s break down the different types and explain how they partner up with AC valves to cool your home.
Air conditioner systems have two types of AC coils: evaporator coils and condenser coils. As a brief overview, these coils work together to get rid of hot air from inside your home by absorbing it into refrigerant and then transferring that heat outside.
Evaporator coils sit within the indoor part of your AC unit and are typically made from aluminum, steel, or copper. Their job is fairly simple: Get warm air outside of your home.
Here’s how an evaporator coil works:
Your blower pushes hot air from inside your home over the coil.
The refrigerant in your evaporator coil absorbs the heat and transports it outside to the condenser coil.
Condenser coils are located outdoors in your AC’s condenser unit. They receive the refrigerant—which, as a reminder, has absorbed the heat from your indoor air—from your evaporator coil before eventually releasing the warmed air into the atmosphere.
Here’s a more in-depth explanation of how condenser coils work:
After the refrigerant absorbs heat from your indoor air, it exits the evaporator coil through a copper tube and enters your condenser unit.
Warm refrigerant gas goes into the compressor, which pressurizes it and transforms it into a hot gas.
Your condenser coil converts the gas into a liquid, pushing the heat from the refrigerant outside.
Now in liquid form, the refrigerant returns to the evaporator coil and begins the cycle again.
Your AC unit also has a valve that regulates the flow of refrigerant throughout the HVAC system. Also known as an expansion valve, this device sits in front of the evaporator coil, opening and closing to allow refrigerant into the evaporator.
On high-efficiency AC systems, there’s an even more sophisticated AC valve—called a thermostatic expansion valve (TXV)—that allows a precise amount of refrigerant through based on how much your system needs at that time. You might wonder: Why does this matter? When your AC unit has too much or too little refrigerant, it can impact its efficiency. So, by providing just the right amount, a TXV helps your HVAC system hit an operational sweet spot.
Working together with the compressor, AC coils and valves move hot, stuffy air outside your home, making it feel cooler and more comfortable. When each of these HVAC system parts operates smoothly, they improve the efficiency of your entire system.
Importantly, an expansion valve on AC helps ensure that the right amount of refrigerant gets into your system. If there’s too much refrigerant in your system, it can lead to all kinds of problems, including:
Lukewarm air lingering in your home
An inefficient HVAC system that runs constantly
A damaged compressor
Like other parts of an HVAC system, AC coils and valves can collect dirt, dust, and debris—and since they contain refrigerant, they can also leak. Fortunately, cleaning your AC coils once per year (in addition to scheduling an annual air conditioner servicing) may help prevent these problems. You can tackle this job for less than $10 if you have the right tools.
However, whenever you clean your AC coils, there’s a risk of damaging the delicate coils or fins, which are expensive to repair. If you don’t want to perform this task yourself, contact a local heating and cooling company. As experts in all things HVAC, these pros know the right way to clean your coils without damaging them. They typically charge between $100 and $400 for the job. Plus, during their visit, they can check out the rest of your HVAC system to identify any current or future issues.
By keeping up with regular HVAC maintenance, you’ll help your AC unit run more efficiently and possibly extend its life span. Plus, you’ll reduce the likelihood of expensive problems down the line.
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When determining your AC coil cleaning cost, you’ll need to factor in the type, cleaning method, and more. Our cost guide will show you what to expect.
When a TXV valve goes bad in your AC, you’ll notice it’s not cooling your home. Read on to learn more about TXV valve replacement costs and when to replace it.
A faulty evaporator coil is a common cause of AC failure. But how much does an evaporator coil replacement cost? We explore the factors here.
An AC coil is an expensive part to replace and it won’t always be the right investment. Learn whether to replace a coil or the entire system.
Leaking AC coils can compromise your entire home cooling system. Look for these six signs of a leaking evaporator coil, and schedule a repair ASAP.
Having dirty evaporator and condenser coils works your HVAC system harder than it needs to. Here’s how to clean your air conditioner coils like a pro.
