AFUE
Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency. The amount of energy your furnace converts into heat. The number indicated shows the percentage of energy heating your home, while the rest escapes as exhaust.
Advanced Reciprocating Compressor
A compressor designed for very high cooling efficiency.
Air Handler
The part of a unit that forces cooled or heated air into your ducts.
BTU
British Thermal Unit. One unit is approximately the same as the heat given off by a standard match, and generally used as a measure of heat introduced into or extracted from your home.
BTUH
Acronym for British Thermal Unit (see "BTU") per Hour.
Beckett Burner
A type of burner installed in furnaces, intended to combust heating oil.
CFM
Acronym meaning Cubic Feet per Measure. Measures how many cubic feet of air pass a given point at a given time. The higher the CFM, the more air is being forced through the system.
Capacity
Overall ability for a system to cool a given space.
Carbon Monoxide
A toxic gas produced when carbon-based fuels burn without a sufficient air supply.
Compressor
A piece of equipment in a split-system or outdoor air conditioner that controls pressure applied to refrigerant.
Condenser Coil
A piece of equipment in a split-system or outdoor air conditioner that converts a gaseous refrigerant into a liquid, and removes any excess heat as exhaust.
DB
Shortened form of "Decibels" and usually written as "dB", a measurement for the intensity or loudness of a sound.
Damper
A valve in ductwork which opens and closes to permit and restrict airflow.
Downflow
A furnace type that draws in cool air from its top, and releases it as warm air from the bottom.
Ductwork
The framework of air ducts in your home. Air ducts transfer air from your HVAC system to your air vents.
EER
Acronym for Energy Efficiency Rating (EER). Calculated by BTU divided by wattage, measures the efficiency of energy use by a particular unit.
Electronic Air Cleaner (EAC)
A type of air filter which magnetizes large particles (such as bacteria) in air, and draws them into a collector plate, letting clean air pass through.
Energy Saver Switch
A switch which allows the unit's fan and radiator to affix to a timed schedule, saving energy.
Energy Star
The Energy Star program is a certification method developed by the US government. Energy Star products are rated to be among the most efficient and ecologically safe.
Evaporator Coil
A piece of equipment in a split-system or indoor air conditioner. Converts refrigerant into a gas to remove moisture and heat from air.
Furnace
An appliance designed to heat air and force it through ducts to heat building interior spaces.
Galvanized Steel
Material used to construct rigid pipes for heat distribution.
Geothermal Energy
Heat obtained from naturally occurring thermal energy stored in the Earth.
HSPF
The Heating Seasonal Performance Factor measures heating efficiency of heat pumps. A higher number indicates more efficiency by the heat pump as it functions.
HVAC
The abbreviation of Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning
Heat Exchanger
The components in furnace responsible for transferring heat to the surrounding air.
Heat Pump
A device that reverses refrigerant flow thereby extracting heat from outside air in order to help heat the interior space. It functions in an opposite manner when the cooling system is an operation.
Horizontal Flow
A furnace that installed so that air is drawn in from one side and is heated and sent out through the other side. Horizontal Flow units are often used for installations in both crawl space and attic areas.
Humidifier
A device that adds water vapor into heated air as it moves out of the furnace. This is responsible for maintaining air moisture levels thereby reducing static electricity helping to protect furnishings from moisture variations.
Hybrid Heat
Hybrid Heat systems increases overall performance by using a heating source which provides the most energy-efficient heat during moderate heating conditions.
Indoor Coil
see Evaporator Coil
Joule
Also known as Ohmic heating and resistive heating, is the process by which the passage of an electric current through a conductor produces heat.
Load Estimate
A series of evaluations to determine the heating or cooling requirements of a space. Energy load analysis incorporates information such as the square footage, number of window or door, level of insulation and its quality and factors in the local climate in order to determine the heating and cooling capacity required by the HVAC system. his is often known as a Heat Loss Analysis when used to describe heating requirements determined by the amount of heat lost through the roof, entry ways and walls.
Low Boy
A furnace configuration in which the furnace takes up a larger square foot area but is lower in height
MERV
The Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value is a measurement of a filter's ability remove particles that are between 3 to 10 microns in size and is the standard comparison of the efficiency of an air filter. The MERV scale ranges from16 as the most efficient to a 1 that is least efficient
Matched System
A heating and cooling system comprised of components and products that have been certified to perform at promised comfort and efficiency levels when used together according to design and engineering specifications.
Non-Thermal plasma (cold plasma)
Plasma that breaks down gases to harmless compounds prevalent in the atmosphere such as oxygen, nitrogen, water vapor and carbon dioxide. Plasma is made up of oppositely charged hydrogen and oxygen ions, also known as bi-polar ionization. These are naturally occurring ions that can be created when a sufficiently high voltage is applied to a sharp point. When it is injected into a moving air stream it breaks down gases to harmless compounds prevalent in the atmosphere such as oxygen, nitrogen, water vapor and carbon dioxide.
Operating Cost
A figure based on energy use the operating cost is a measure of the day-to-day cost of running your home comfort equipment.
Outdoor Coil
see Condenser Coil
Payback Analysis
A rating of the overall efficiency and value of your home comfort system. Adding the purchase price and ongoing operating costs of the system a payback analysis determines the number of years required before the energy savings offsets the purchase price.
Puron Refrigerant
A type of refrigerant determined to be an environmentally sound refrigerant designed to prevent harm the earth's ozone layer. Puron Refrigerant is approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency as a replacement from Freon 22* due to federal laws requiring all manufacturers phase out ozone depleting refrigerants.
QuieTech
A patented noise reduction system providing comfortable heat levels while generating minimal noise.
R-22 refrigerant
R-22 is an HCFC refrigerant with low ozone depletion potential. It is a single component refrigerant historically used in air-conditioning and refrigeration applications in a different types of markets. Production of R-22 was ceased in 2015 per the Montreal Protocol.
Reciprocating Compressor
A compressor using a piston like action to compress the refrigerant in the system.
Reclaiming
When used refrigerant is removed from a system and returned to the manufacturer for disposal or reuse.
Recycling
A means of reusing refrigerant by first removing it from the system and then cleaning it and returning it to the system.
Refrigerant Lines
Two copper lines that carry refrigerant between the outdoor Condenser Coil to the indoor Evaporator Coil.
Riello Burner
In an oil furnace this burner increases efficiency by providing a cleaner, better quality combustion of heating oil.
SEER
This is a rating known as the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio which measures the cooling efficiency of an air conditioner or heat pump. The higher the number, the more efficient the system is when it converts electricity into cooling power.
Scroll Compressor
A compressor that works in a circular spinning motion as opposed to compressors using up and down piston action.
Setback Thermostat
A programable type of electronic thermostat with a built-in memory capable of maintaining different temperature settings for different times of the day.
Single Package Product
A heating and a cooling system with components contained in one location outdoors
SmartRecovery
Smart Recovery is a function of Zone cooling and heating where the system starts in advance so that each zone reaches a selected temperature setting at a scheduled time.
Split System
This type of system is usually an air conditioner or heat pump that has components in two locations made up of one part of the system being inside (evaporator coil) and the other outside (condenser coil).
Thermidistat™
The Thermidistat™ Control maintains indoor temperature and humidity levels by monitoring inside and outside temperatures and the indoor humidity levels to selected settings.
Thermostat
A device usually mounted in the living space that monitors and controls your HVAC system products.
Thermostatic Expansion Valve
A thermostatic expansion valve or TXV gauges the flow of incoming liquid refrigerant in the evaporator to match the amount of refrigerant that is being boiled off in the evaporator.
Ton
As used in HVAC terms it is a unit of measure for cooling capacity. One ton = 12,000 BTUs per hour.
Total Home Comfort System
A whole environment approach to providing customized home comfort regardless of the weather or time of year..
TrueSense Dirty Filter Detection
TrueSense™ is a system that monitors filters and indicates when the filter media needs to be changed.
Two Stage Compressor
Two Stage Compressors function at two levels, a low stage and a high stage. Properly sized equipment will operate 80% of the time in low stage, enhancing efficiency and comfort with lower humidity levels and quieter operation. It's like getting two air conditioners or heat pumps in one system.
UL
UL is an non-profit testing organization that provides objective providing un biased testing to rates electrical products for public safety.
Upflow system
A type of furnace that pulls in cool air from the bottom heats it and forces the warmed air out the top into the duct work. Most often placed in basements or unused closets.
Ventilator
A ventilator device transfers heating or cooling energy from existing indoor air to fresh incoming air.
Zoning
A method to divide your home into areas or Zones to improve home comfort and energy efficiency. Zones allow control of where and when heating and cooling occurs in a home. Programmable and smart thermostats control the operating times of the equipment. Dampers kin the system direct air flow to select areas or "zones" of the home.