We have been working in our industry so long that we often forget that people don’t know HVAC and geothermal terms the way that we do. That is why we decided to write this blog post! We have provided a list of some of the common HVAC and geothermal terms that we use frequently and have provided their definitions. Enjoy!
· HVAC – This terms is an acronym for heating, ventilation and air conditioning
· Coil – Special equipment that performs heat transfer to air. It is heated or cooled by electrical means or by circulating liquid or steam within it. Your air conditioner has a coil.
· Refrigerant – Refrigerant is the special chemical used by air conditioning units that has the ability to change from gas from to liquid form in a short time. Refrigerant produces a cooling effect by absorbing heat out of the air and expanding from a liquid into a vapor. The most commonly used type of refrigerant is Freon.
· Charge – The amount of refrigerant in your air conditioner. Sometimes your A/C unit will need to be “recharged” because you don’t have enough refrigerant.
· Compressor – You have a compressor inside your heating or cooling unit and its main purpose is to put pressure on the refrigerant, thereby changing the liquid to a gas and forcing the air into your home to change the temperature. A very important part of your home’s HVAC system!
· Energy Star appliance – If you have an appliance that has been Energy Star certified, it means that the appliance has met the standards to be energy efficient, helping to conserve the environment. Your energy bills will be lower as a result of efficient energy use appliances.
· Electronic Air Cleaner – These are installed in your furnace or forced air unit and while your appliance is running the electronic air cleaner will clean the air in your home.
· MERV Rating – (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value) rating of a filter describes the size of the holes in the filter that allow air to pass through. The higher the MERV rating, the smaller the holes in the filter, the higher the efficiency.
· Ventilator – A system that exchanges stale, recirculated indoor air with fresh, filtered outside air.
· Geothermal – Basically this relates to the Earth’s natural internal heat.
· Geothermal Heat Pumps – Devices that take advantage of the relatively constant temperature of the Earth’s internal heat, using it as a source for both heating and cooling.
· Direct Use – This term is applied to when you use geothermal heat as it is without converting it to electricity first.
If you have any questions about your HVAC system or would like to set up a complementary estimate, please call Dan Schmied at 720-876-7166 or email him directly at [email protected].
