What is a Metering Device – Depending on the type of HVAC air conditioning or heat pump system it is and the efficiency range of the system will depend on the type of metering device the system has installed by the HVAC manufacturer of the air conditioner or heat pump system. Lower efficiency HVAC air conditioner and heat pump models have fixed orifice types while higher efficiency systems have thermostatic expansion valves installed in the HVAC air conditioner or heat pump system. The thermostatic expansion valve is far more complex than the fixed orifice metering device as the thermostatic expansion valve metering device modulates the refrigerant flow based on the temperature of the refrigerant temperature in the evaporator coil. This allows a specific amount of refrigerant, based on demand, to be metered into the evaporator coil while the fixed orifice metering device allows the same amount of refrigerant to enter the enter the coil no matter the conditions or the demand. As the liquid refrigerant enters the metering device it changes temperature and pressure. A partial amount of the liquid refrigerant flashes into a refrigerant gas or vapor as it leaves the metering device and enters the evaporator coil.