Discharge pressure (also called high side pressure or head pressure) is the

pressure Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and eve ...

generated on the output side of a

gas compressor A compressor is a mechanical device that increases the pressure of a gas by reducing its volume. An air compressor is a specific type of gas compressor. Many compressors can be staged, that is, the gas is compressed several times in steps or ...

in a

refrigeration Refrigeration is any of various types of cooling of a space, substance, or system to lower and/or maintain its temperature below the ambient one (while the removed heat is ejected to a place of higher temperature).IIR International Dictionary of ...

air conditioning Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C (US) or air con (UK), is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior temperature, and in some cases, also controlling the humidity of internal air. Air c ...

system. Higher discharge pressure could result in increased energy consumption and due to that less efficiency. High discharge pressure is generally considered a negative except for the very rare cases where it can be used to achieve a certain pressure in the system. Additionally, higher discharge pressure can damage components. The discharge pressure is affected by several factors: size and speed of the condenser fan, ambient temperature, condition and cleanliness of the condenser coil, and the size of the discharge line. An extremely high discharge pressure coupled with an extremely low suction pressure is an indicator of a refrigerant restriction. High discharge pressure could result in multiple types of

cavitation Cavitation in fluid mechanics and engineering normally is the phenomenon in which the static pressure of a liquid reduces to below the liquid's vapor pressure, leading to the formation of small vapor-filled cavities in the liquid. When sub ...

, including suction cavitation and discharge cavitation which can lead to reduced system efficiency, wear on components, increased noise and vibration and ultimately system failure. You can measure the discharge pressure of the system by installing a pressure gauge on the discharge line. Carefully monitoring the pressure can prevent component damage and failure.

References

Cooling technology Hydraulics Hydrostatics Pressure {{Engineering-stub