What does horsepower developed by the compressor motor signify?

The horsepower developed by the compressor motor directly relates to the amount of work done by the compressor. This measurement indicates how effectively the compressor is doing its job, which is to compress refrigerant gas from a low-pressure vapor into a high-pressure vapor. This work involves moving a significant quantity of refrigerant, thereby increasing its energy and pressure.

Understanding that horsepower is a unit of power, it reflects how much energy the motor converts from electrical to mechanical. When you assess the performance of a cooling system, knowing the horsepower gives insight into the compressor's capability to perform its function—managing the flow and compression of refrigerant gas—while also allowing for evaluations of system efficiency under varying load conditions.

This distinction is crucial for evaluating system performance and ensuring compressors operate at optimal conditions. The other options relate to different concepts; for instance, system efficiency encompasses more than just the motor's horsepower, and refrigerant amount is not directly signified by motor power output.