When a refrigerant is condensed, what does it do?

When a refrigerant is condensed, it gives up heat. This process occurs in the condenser unit of an air conditioning system, where the refrigerant, having absorbed heat from the indoor environment as a gas, passes through the condenser coils. In this stage, the refrigerant releases its heat to the outside environment, causing it to change from a gas to a liquid state. This phase change is essential for the refrigeration cycle to function properly, as it allows the refrigerant to be recycled and continue to absorb heat inside the building.

In this context, while the refrigerant absorbs heat when it evaporates or vaporizes, during condensation, its primary action is to release heat into the surroundings. The other processes like changing phase to vapor and becoming superheated pertain to different stages of the refrigeration cycle and are not applicable to the condensing process itself. Hence, recognizing that condensation is fundamentally about heat release clarifies why this choice is the accurate representation of what happens during this phase of the refrigeration cycle.