Glossary of HVAC Terms – HVAC The Woodlands TX & Spring Areas

HVAC can be quite confusing to anyone, without the proper knowledge. We put together the short list below to help you better understand the issue you may be experiencing with your HVAC The Woodlands TXand Spring areas. Feel free to give us a call to discuss your project anytime.

AIR CONDITIONER – A  cooling unit that is designed to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air inside a home or office.

AFUE – Stands for Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency. This number represents how efficiently a furnace converts fuel to energy. The higher the rating, the more fuel-efficient the furnace is. Percentage of fuel used for heating.

AIR HANDLER (AIR HANDLING UNIT) – The portion of your air conditioner or heating system that forces air through your home’s ductwork.

AIR BALANCING – Adjusting an air conditioning system so that the right amount of air is delivered to the right places in your home in order to achieve the right heating or cooling effect.

BTU – British Thermal Unit, the measurement of heating and air conditioning capacity. A BTU is the amount of heat that must be added to one pound of water to raise its temperature one degree Fahrenheit.

CAPACITY – The ability of a heating or cooling system to heat or cool a certain amount of space. For heating, this is typically expressed in BTU’s. For cooling, it is usually given in tons.

CARBON MONOXIDE – A colorless, odorless, highly poisonous gas produced when carbon burns without sufficient air nearby.

CFC – Chlorofluorocarbons, used as a refrigerant in air conditioners and heat pumps, linked to the depletion of the ozone layer.

CFM – Stands for Cubic Feet per Minute. A measurement of airflow that indicates how many cubic feet of air pass by a stationary point in one minute. The higher the number, the more air is being forced through the system.

COIL – A heating or cooling element made of pipe or tubing, usually with plates or fins.

COMMISSIONING – The final step in installing a heating or air conditioning system. Every component is checked and tested for compliance with codes, manuals, manufacturer requirements, and occupant needs. After commissioning, the technician will: provide documentation of testing, provide all equipment manuals, and show the homeowner how to operate the system.

COMPRESSOR – The Compressor is the most important piece of a heating or cooling system. Located in the outdoor unit, the compressor is responsible for pumping refrigerant throughout the system.

CONDENSER  COIL – The outside unit of a heating or air conditioning system. Here the refrigerant condenses from a gas to a liquid and hot or cold air from the building is released to the outside.

DAMPER – A movable plate that controls airflow through a ductwork system. Dampers are used to direct air to the areas of the home that need it most.

DEHUMIDIFIER – A device that removes excess moisture from the air.

DOE – The U.S. Department of Energy, the federal agency that sets industry efficiency standards.

DUCTLESS AIR CONDITIONER – Air conditioning system that can be installed inside the home or office, on a wall or ceiling, that does not require ductwork.

DUCTWORK – Hollow pipes used to transfer air from the Air Handler to the air vents throughout your home. They can be round or rectangular, sheet metal or fiberglass or vinyl tubes. In air conditioning systems they carry air from the home to the air conditioning system or furnace and back to the home. Ductwork is one of the most important components of a home heating and cooling system.

EFFICIENCY – Is a factor of how much energy it takes to do a useful amount or work. There are two efficiency ratings for cooling: Seasonal Energy Efficient Ratio (SEER) and Energy Efficient Ratio ( EER), and two for heating: Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) and Heating Seasonal Performance Factor (HSPF).

ELECTRONIC AIR CLEANER (EAC) – An electronic device that filters out large particles and contaminants in indoor air. It then electronically pulls out tiny particles that have been magnetized, such as viruses and bacteria, drawing them to a collector plate.

ERV – Energy Recovery Ventilator, a machine that draws fresh air into the home and exhausts stale air from the home. It uses a process to preheat or pre-cool (depending on the season) to reduce energy costs associated with conditioning the air.

ENERGY STAR- A government supported branding used to identify energy efficient products. The branding was developed by the US Department of Energy and the US Environmental Protection Agency.

EPA – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

EVAPORATOR COIL – Part of a split system air conditioner or heat pump located indoors. The evaporator coil cools and dehumidifies the air by converting liquid refrigerant into a gas, which absorbs the heat from the air. The warmest refrigerant is then carried through a tube to the outdoor unit (condenser coil).

FURNACE – A self-contained heating unit that is designed to deliver heated air to a home.

HCFC – Hydro chloroflourocarbon, contains chlorine and is used as a refrigerant in  air conditioners and heat pumps. It has been linked to the depletion of the ozone layer and global warming.

HEAT EXCHANGER – 1. The part of a furnace that transfers heat from burning fuel to the air used to heat your home. Also, from a boiler to water for hydronic heating.
2. A device, such as a condenser or evaporator, in which heat is added or removed in order to heat or cool your home.

HEAT PUMP – A single refrigeration system designed to provide both heating and cooling by moving heat.

HRV – Heat Recovery Ventilator, a machine that brings fresh air into a home through a process that preheats the air so it has less impact on your utility bill.

HSPF – Stands for Heating Seasonal Performance Factor. Indicates how efficiently a heat pump is working. A higher number means the unit works more efficiently. Most new units have ratings from 7.0 to 9.4.

HFC – Hydroflorocarbon, used as a refrigerant in air conditioners and heat pumps. It has little or no effect on the ozone layer.

HSPF – Heating Seasonal Performance Factor, an equipment efficiency rating. As with MPG on a car, the higher the rating the more fuel efficient the equipment is.

HUMIDIFIER – A component that adds moisture to the air before it is distributed by the Ductwork throughout the house.

The Comfort King – HVAC The Woodlands TX

HVAC – Heating, ventilating, and air conditioning

HVACR – Heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration

INFILTRATION – Air that enters your home through holes, gaps, and cracks, (e.g., plumbing or electrical holes, the heating and air conditioning system, doors, and windows).

IAQ – Indoor air quality.

INDOOR COIL – See: Evaporator Coil

LATENT HEAT – The energy that suspends moisture vapor in the air.

LOAD CALCULATION – A mathematical determination of how much cooling and heating (BTUs) an HVAC system must deliver for occupant safety and comfort. It is based on a variety of factors: square footage, building orientation, number of occupants, size and placement of rooms, number and size of windows and doors, amount of insulation, number of floors, and climate.

MERV RATING – The Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value is the standard comparison of the efficiency of an air filter. The MERV scale ranges from 1 (least efficient) to 16 (most efficient), and measures a filter’s ability remove particles from 3 to 10 microns in size.

MOLD – A natural byproduct of the fungi family that thrives when organic substances and water combine under certain circumstances. Mold reproduces via spores that can remain dormant, yet viable, for years. Many molds are beneficial. For example, they are the bleu in bleu cheese, and we use them to make wine, penicillin, and antibiotics. However, some molds can cause health problems.

OUTDOOR COIL – See: Condenser Coil

PACKAGE UNIT – One outdoor unit that contains both a heating and a cooling system.

REFRIGERANT – A chemical that cools air as it evaporates. Air conditioning systems use Refrigerant in the Evaporator Coil to cool air as it passes by.

R-22 – Hydro chloroflourocarbon (HCFC)  is a refrigerant containing chlorine used in air conditioning systems. The EPA has mandated that R-22 cannot be manufactured after 2010 because it has been linked to the depletion of the ozone layer and global warming. Most commonly referred to by its trademarked name, Freon.

R-410A – Hydro fluorocarbon (HFC) is an environmentally friendly refrigerant, that is considered to be the replacement for R-22.

REFRIGERANT CHARGE – The procedure an HVACR technician performs to ensure that the system has enough of the right kind refrigerant for peak operating performance.

REFRIGERANT LINES – Two copper lines that connect the Condenser (Outdoor) Coil to the Evaporator (Indoor) Coil.

RELATIVE HUMIDITY (RH) – The percent of moisture actually in the air compared to the maximum amount of moisture the air can hold at that temperature.

RETURN, RETURN AIR, RETURN SIDE – The path the air takes to get to an air-handling unit or furnace so it can be cooled or heated. It is the return path. The return sideshould be balanced  with the supply side to ensure proper air flow and comfort.

SEER – Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio, an equipment efficiency rating that measures how much energy it takes to cool the air. As with MPG on a car, the higher the number the more efficient the unit.

SENSIBLE HEAT – The temperature of the air. This type of heat is measured with a thermometer.

SPLIT SYSTEM – A two-component heating and cooling (heat pump) or cooling only (air conditioner) system. The condensing unit is installed outside, the air handling unit is installed inside (preferably in conditioned space). Refrigerant lines and wiring connect them together.

SUPPLY or SUPPLY SIDE – The part of an HVAC system that takes (supplies) the conditioned air from the air-handling unit or furnace to your home. The supply side should be balanced with the return side to ensure proper air flow and comfort.

THERMOSTAT – A device that allows you to control the temperature inside your home by telling the heating or cooling system how much air to produce.

TONNAGE ,TON – A unit of measure for cooling capacity. One ton=12,000 BTUs per hour.

TWO – STAGE COMPRESSOR –  A compressor that functions in a low and high level of operation for more energy efficient cooling

VARIABLE FREQUENCY DRIVE (VFD) – Automated speed control for electric motors like fans, pumps and centrifugal chillers for precise control and energy savings

VENTILATOR – A ventilator captures heating or cooling energy from stale indoor air and transfers it to fresh incoming air.

ZONES, ZONED SYSTEM, ZONING – A single HVAC system that can meet different heating and cooling needs in different areas (zones). Each zone of a home has its own thermostat with which it can regulate the temperature and humidity in its area. One zoned air conditioner could be set for a high temperature in one zone and for a lower temperature in the other zone. Zone systems have two or more zones.