What sort of sounds do you hear coming from your air conditioning system? You expect to hear the whir of the fans and the hum of the compressor when it turns on. But what about the dripping of water? Yes, this is one of the routine noises you can expect to hear coming from your AC as it works on a hot day. It’s the condensate moisture in the system dripping down into a pan, where it is then pumped down a drain and out of the house.
Your AC doesn’t use water to cool down air, but water is a product of how it cools the air. When the cold refrigerant in the evaporator coils and fins evaporates, it draws heat out of the air as well as moisture. The moisture collects along the coil and a pan below catches it when it falls. The condensate drain and line removes the water—unless the drain is clogged up.