When discussing the basic refrigeration cycle, we commonly use the terms superheat, subcooling, and saturation, but what do they mean and how do they help us troubleshoot a system?
Each of these terms refers to the state of the refrigerant. When a refrigerant exists in two phases (liquid and vapor), it is in a saturated state. The refrigerant composition could be 99% vapor/1% liquid or 99% liquid/1% vapor and the refrigerant would still be in a saturated state. One of the important properties of a saturated refrigerant is that there is a defined pressure/temperature relationship.