Air Conditioning Terms
- Air balancing is adjusting your air conditioning to deliver the desired amount of cool air to each room in your home.
- Air conditioners are equipment that is used to control air temperature, relative humidity, air purity, and over-all comfort to the air in your home.
- Air filters are devices used to remove unwanted particles and odors from the air inside your home, and protect your Air Conditioning equipment from damage.
- Air handlers are blower-fans, cooling coils, controls, drain pans, and an air filter that is contained in one cabinet.
- Air vents are where cooled and heated air enters or leaves a duct inside your home.
- Ambient air temperature is the temperature of the air surrounding you or your HVAC or Air conditioning equipment.
- BTU (British thermal unit) is the standard unit of measuring heat used in heating and air conditioning, or the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit. In air conditioning, it is a unit that represents the capacity to remove that amount of heat from inside a space.
- Capacity is the ability of a cooling or heating system to cool or heat a specific amount of space in a given area. Cooling capacity is expressed in tons, and heating is measured in BTUs.
- Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, toxic gas produced when carbon containing fuels are burned. This is why it is so important to maintain equipment.
- Central air conditioning when indoor air is cooled at a central location and air is delivered to and from rooms with an air handler and ductwork.
- Condenser (heat exchanger) the part of your air conditioning system on the outside of your home that condenses the refrigerant in the system from a gas to a liquid and releasing unwanted hot and cold air to the outside air.
- Coil – condensers are tubes in the equipment outside your house filled with refrigerant that remove heat from the gas refrigerant and convert it into a liquid form again.
- Coil - evaporator are tubes inside your house filled with refrigerant that remove heat and moisture as the refrigerant evaporates back to a gas.
- Compressor the pump in your air conditioner that moves the refrigerant from the evaporator coils inside your house to the condenser outside your house and back in a closed system.
- Condensers absorb the heat created in the A/c system and dissipate it while condensing the refrigerant from a vapor to liquid; residential HVAC systems are usually air cooled condensers.
- Dampers are moveable pieces of the ductwork that can be opened and closed to balance airflow in a HVAC system to control airflow into specific rooms.
- Dehumidifier a piece of equipment used to remove moisture from the air inside your home.
- Ducts carry cooled air from the air conditioning system to the rooms in your home and then return the air back to the air conditioning system.
- Ductless air conditioning air conditioning systems that don’t use ductwork; they’re convenient for cooling one room in your home when you don’t have central air.
- EER (Energy Efficiency Ratio) the ratio of cooling capacity of an air conditioning unit (in British thermal units per hour) to the total electrical input (in watts) under specific conditions. The higher the EER rating the more efficient the system is.
- Energy Star® is a government sponsored brand used to identify energy efficient appliances or products.
- Flexible duct air ducts that are easy to bend around corners in attics that make it easy to run ductwork.
- Forced air heating and Air: heating, air conditioning, and ventilation used in different combinations that use fans and blowers to force air through ducts to different rooms in your home
- HVAC This stands for Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning.
- Heating coils a coil device that serves as a heat source in air conditioners that’s made of tubing or pipes.
- Heat pump: Heat pumps are mechanical devices that can be reversed to heat or cool an indoor space. Heat Pumps can use temperature differentials in the air, water or ground as a heat source or sink to provide indoor comfort.
- Heat transfer is the movement of heat energy from one place to another.
- Humidifiers add water vapor to air in your house to increase humidity.
- Insulation: A insulation is used in attics, walls, and under floors to slow down heat loss.
- Radiant floor heating tubes embedded in concrete floors through which hot water is pumped for heating the floor.
- Refrigerant a fluid used in place of Freon with the ability to absorb heat at low temperatures and release heat at higher temperatures.
- SEER: stands for “Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio” -that’s a rating of the efficiency of an air conditioner or heat pump. The higher the number the more efficient the unit is at converting electricity to cooling. In January 2006, government regulations require all air conditioners to have a 13 SEER or higher.
- Split system is a central air conditioning system with two or more components located apart from each other. The condensing unit is located outside the home, and the air handling unit is inside the home with refrigerant lines running between them.
- Thermostat a temperature control device mounted on the wall of your house that has a series of sensors and relays that monitor and activate an air conditioning system.
- Window air conditioner: an air conditioning unit that fits in a window in your home that’s used for cooling one room.
We’ll be adding to this list of Air Conditioning terms as homeowners keep asking us questions and we’ll add them to the list. Please feel free to call us at 303.436.2525 with any questions.
