The ______ converts refrigerant to low temperature, low pressure gas which is then blown into the passenger compartment.

• A. A/C Evaporator
• B. Compressor
• C. Condenser
• D. Expansion Valve

Answer: (A)

The key idea is how the refrigerant cools the cabin by changing state at the right place in the cycle. The evaporator is where the liquid refrigerant, under low pressure, boils and becomes a low-temperature, low-pressure gas as it absorbs heat from the cabin air. The blower then pushes air over the evaporator and into the passenger compartment, delivering the cooled air. The other components do different jobs: the compressor raises the refrigerant to high pressure, the condenser dumps heat to the outside, and the expansion valve drops the pressure before the evaporator but doesn’t itself create the cooling that enters the cabin. So the evaporator is the part that turns the refrigerant into the cold gas that enables the cooling of the cabin air.