GlossaryofHVACterms

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HVAC(heating,ventilation,andairconditioning)isamajorsubdisciplineofmechanicalengineering.ThegoalofHVACdesign
istobalanceindoorenvironmentalcomfortwithotherfactorssuchasinstallationcost,easeofmaintenance,andenergy
efficiency.ThedisciplineofHVACincludesalargenumberofspecializedtermsandacronyms,manyofwhicharesummarized
inthisglossary.
airchangesperhour
Mainarticle:Airchangesperhour
Thehourlyventilationratedividedbythevolumeofaspace.Forperfectlymixedairorlaminarflowspaces,thisisequal
tothenumberoftimesperhourthatthevolumethespaceisexchangedbymechanicalandnaturalventilation.Also
calledairchangerateorairexchangerate.AbbreviatedACHorac/hr.
airconditioner
Mainarticle:Airconditioner
Anappliance,system,ormechanismdesignedtodehumidifyandextractheatfromanarea.Usuallythistermis
reservedforsmallerselfcontainedunitssuchasaresidentialsystem.
airhandler
airhandlingunit
Mainarticle:Airhandler
Acentralunitconsistingofablower,heatingandcoolingelements,filterracksorchamber,dampers,humidifier,and
othercentralequipmentindirectcontactwiththeairflow.Thisdoesnotincludetheductworkthroughthebuilding.
AbbreviatedAHorAHU.
Britishthermalunit(BTU)
Mainarticle:Britishthermalunit
Anyofseveralunitsofenergy(heat)intheHVACindustry,eachslightlymorethan1kJ.OneBTUistheenergy
requiredtoraiseonepoundofwateronedegreeFahrenheit,butthemanydifferenttypesofBTUarebasedondifferent
interpretationsofthisdefinition.IntheUnitedStatesthepowerofHVACsystems(therateofcoolinganddehumidifying
orheating)issometimesexpressedinBTU/hourinsteadofwatts.AbbreviatedBTUorBtu.
chiller
Mainarticle:Chiller
Adevicethatremovesheatfromaliquidviaavaporcompressionorabsorptionrefrigerationcycle.Thiscooledliquid
flowsthroughpipesinabuildingandpassesthroughcoilsinairhandlers,fancoilunits,orothersystems,coolingand
usuallydehumidifyingtheairinthebuilding.Chillersareoftwotypesaircooledorwatercooled.Aircooledchillersare
usuallyoutsideandconsistofcondensercoilscooledbyfandrivenair.Watercooledchillersareusuallyinsidea
building,andheatfromthesechillersiscarriedbyrecirculatingwatertoaheatsinksuchasanoutdoorcoolingtower.
coil
Equipmentthatperformsheattransfertoairwhenmountedinsideanairhandlingunitorductwork.Itisheatedorcooled
byelectricalmeansorbycirculatingliquidorsteamwithinit.
condenser
Mainarticle:Condenser(heattransfer)
Acomponentinthebasicrefrigerationcyclethatejectsorremovesheatfromthesystem.Thecondenseristhehotside
ofanairconditionerorheatpump.Condensersareheatexchangers,andcantransferheattoairortoanintermediate
fluid(suchaswateroranaqueoussolutionofethyleneglycol)tocarryheattoadistantsink,suchasground(earth
sink),abodyofwater,orair(aswithcoolingtowers).
constantairvolume
Mainarticle:Constantairvolume
Asystemdesignedtoprovideaconstantairflow.ThistermisappliedtoHVACsystemsthathavevariablesupplyair
temperaturebutconstantairflowrates.MostresidentialforcedairsystemsaresmallCAVsystemswithon/offcontrol.
AbbreviatedCAV.
controller
Mainarticle:Controller(controltheory)
Adevicethatcontrolstheoperationofpartorallofasystem.Itmaysimplyturnadeviceonandoff,oritmaymore
subtlymodulatethesetpointofcomponents.Mostcontrollersareautomaticbuthaveuserinputsuchastemperature
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setpoints,e.g.athermostat.Controlsmaybeanalogordigital.
damper
Mainarticle:Damper(architecture)
Aplateorgateplacedinaducttocontrolairflowbyincreasingfrictionintheduct.
deeplakewatercooling
Mainarticle:Deeplakewatercooling
Theheatisrejectedtodeeplakeregionstocoolhomesandoffices,reducingtheenergycosts.
T
(AlsodeltaT)areferencetoatemperaturedifference.Itisusedtodescribethedifferenceintemperatureofaheating
orcoolingmediumasitentersandasitleavesasystem.
duct
Mainarticle:Duct(HVAC)
Specializedhousingfortheairflow.
economizer
Mainarticle:Economizer
AnHVACcomponentthatusesoutsideair,undersuitableclimateconditions,toreducerequiredmechanicalcooling.
Whentheoutsideairsenthalpyislessthantherequiredsupplyairduringacallforcooling,aneconomizerallowsa
buildingsmechanicalventilationsystemtouseuptothemaximumamountofoutsideair.
enthalpy
Mainarticle:Enthalpy
Foragivensampleofair,ameasureofthetotalheatcontent(thesumoftheheatenergyofthedryairandheat
energyofthewatervaporwithinit).Itistypicallyusedtodeterminetheamountoffreshoutsideairthatcanbeaddedto
recirculatedairforthelowestcoolingcost.
evaporator
Mainarticle:Evaporator
Acomponentinthebasicrefrigerationcyclethatabsorbsoraddsheattothesystem.Evaporatorscanbeusedto
absorbheatfromairorfromaliquid.Theevaporatoristhecoldsideofanairconditionerorheatpump.
fancoilunit
Mainarticle:Fancoilunit
Asmallterminalunitthatisoftencomposedofonlyablowerandaheatingand/orcoolingcoil,asisoftenusedinhotels,
condominiums,orapartments.AbbreviatedFCU.
flow
Atransferoffluidvolumeperunittime.
freshairintake
Anopeningthroughwhichoutsideairisdrawnintothebuilding.Thismaybetoreplaceairinthebuildingthathasbeen
exhaustedbytheventilationsystem,ortoprovidefreshairforcombustionoffuel.AbbreviatedFAI.
furnace
Mainarticle:Furnace
AcomponentofanHVACsystemthataddsheattoairoranintermediatefluidbyburningfuel(naturalgas,oil,propane,
butane,orotherflammablesubstances)inaheatexchanger.
grille
Afacingacrossaductopening,oftenrectangularinshape,containingmultipleparallelslotsthroughwhichairmaybe
deliveredorwithdrawnfromaventilatedspace.Thegrilledirectstheairflowinaparticulardirectionandpreventsthe
passageoflargeitems.
heatgain
heatload
heatloss
Termsfortheamountofcooling(heatgain)orheating(heatloss)neededtomaintaindesiredtemperaturesand
humiditiesincontrolledair.Regardlessofhowwellinsulatedandsealedabuildingis,buildingsgainheatfromsunlight,
conductionthroughthewalls,andinternalheatsourcessuchaspeopleandelectricalequipment.Buildingsloseheat
throughconductionduringcoldweather.EngineersuseheatloadcalculationstodeterminetheHVACneedsofthe
spacebeingcooledorheated.
intermediatefluid
Aliquidorgasusedtotransferheatbetweentwoheatexchangers.Anintermediatefluidisusedwhenthehotandcold
fluidsaretoobulky(suchasair)ordifficulttohandle(suchashalocarbonrefrigerant)todirectlytransfertheheat.
louver
1.Componentsmadeofmultiplesmallerblades,sometimesadjustable,placedinductsorductentriestocontrolthe
volumeofairflow.Whenusedinsideofducts,theirfunctionissimilartothatofadamper,buttheycanbe
manufacturedtofitlargeropeningsthanasinglepiecedamper.
2.Bladesinarectangularframeplacedindoorsorwallstopermitthemovementofair.
makeupairunit
Anairhandlerthatconditions100%outsideair.Typicallyusedinindustrialorcommercialsettings,orin"oncethrough"
(blowersectionsthatonlyblowaironewayintothebuilding),"lowflow"(airhandlingsystemsthatblowairatalowflow
rate),or"primarysecondary"(airhandlingsystemsthathaveanairhandlerorrooftopunitconnectedtoanaddon
makeupunitorhood)commercialHVACsystems.AbbreviatedMAU.
minimumoutsideair
Thelowestamountoffreshairflowthatcanbeallowedintoarecirculatingsystem.Thislimitissenttoensurethatthe
interiorairremainssafeandcomfortabletobreathe.
outsideairdamper
Anautomaticlouverordamperthatcontrolsthefreshairflowintoanairhandlerandmodulatestothemostenergy
efficientsetting.
outsideairtemperature
Ameasureoftheairtemperatureoutsideabuilding.Thetemperatureandhumidityofairinsideandoutsidethebuilding
areusedinenthalpycalculationstodeterminewhenoutsideaircanbeusedforfreeheatingorcooling.Abbreviated
OAT.
packagedterminalairconditioner
Anairconditionerandheatercombinedintoasingle,electricallypoweredunit,typicallyinstalledthroughawalland
oftenfoundinhotels.AbbreviatedPTAC.
packagedunit
Mainarticle:Packagedunit
Anairhandlingunit,definedaseither"recirculating"or"oncethrough"design,madespecificallyforoutdoorinstallation.
Theymostofteninclude,internally,theirownheatingandcoolingdevices.Verycommoninsomeregions,particularlyin
singlestorycommercialbuildings.Alsocalledarooftopunit(RTU)
plenumspace
Mainarticle:Plenumspace
Anenclosedspaceinsideabuildingorotherstructure,usedforairflow.Oftenreferstothespacebetweenadropped
ceilingandthestructuralceiling,oraraisedfloorandthehardfloor.Distinctfromductworkasaplenumispartofthe
structureitself.Cableandpipingwithinaplenummustbeproperlyratedforitsfireandsmokeindices.Seealso:plenum
chamber
psychrometric
Mainarticle:Psychrometrics
Thestudyofthebehaviorofairwatervapormixtures.Watervaporplaysanimportantroleinenergytransferand
humancomfortinHVACdesign.
rooftopunit(RTU)
Sameaspackagedunit.
radiantceilingpanels
Usuallymetalpanelssuspendedundertheceiling,insulatedfromthebuildingstructure.Theprimarycooling/heating
agenttemperatureisclosetotheroom'stemperature.
radiantfloor
Atypeofradiantheatingsystemwherethebuildingfloorcontainschannelsortubesthroughwhichhotfluidssuchasair
orwaterarecirculated.Thewholefloorisevenlyheated.Thus,theroomisheatedfromthebottomup.Radiantfloor
heatingeliminatesthedraftanddustproblemsassociatedwithforcedairheatingsystems.
radiation
Thetransferofheatdirectlyfromonesurfacetoanother(withoutheatingtheintermediateairactingasatransfer
mechanism).
smokedamper
Adamperoradjustablelouverdesignedtoaugmenttheventilationofaspaceduringafire.
superheat
AThenumberofdegreesavaporisaboveitsboilingpointataspecificpressure.
subcooling
ATheconditionwhereliquidrefrigerantiscolderthantheminimumtemperaturerequiredtokeepitfromboilingwhich
wouldchangeitfromaliquidtoagasphase.Subcoolingisthedifferencebetweenitssaturationtemperatureandthe
actualliquidrefrigeranttemperature.
system
GeneraltermusedtorefertothesetorasubsetofcomponentsthatperformaspecificHVACfunctionwithinabuilding.
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terminalunit
Asmallcomponentthatcontainsaheatingcoil,coolingcoil,automaticdamper,orsomecombinationofthethree.Used
tocontrolthetemperatureofasingleroom.AbbreviatedTU.
thermalzone
AnindividualspaceorgroupofneighboringindoorspacesthattheHVACdesignerexpectswillhavesimilarthermal
loads.Buildingcodesmayrequirezoningtosaveenergyincommercialbuildings.Zonesaredefinedinthebuildingto
reducethenumberofHVACsubsystems,andthusinitialcost.Forexample,forperimeteroffices,ratherthanonezone
foreachoffice,allofficesfacingwestcanbecombinedintoonezone.Smallresidencestypicallyhaveonlyone
conditionedthermalzone,plusunconditionedspacessuchasgarages,attics,andcrawlspaces,andbasements.
underfloorairdistribution
Mainarticle:Underfloorairdistribution
Amethodforprovidingventilationandspaceconditioningbyusingtheairplenumbelowaraisedfloortodistribute
conditionedairthroughdiffusersdirectlytotheoccupiedzone.AbbreviatedUFAD.
variableairvolume
Mainarticle:Variableairvolume
AnHVACsystemthathasastablesupplyairtemperature,andvariestheairflowratetomeetthetemperature
requirements.Comparedtoconstantairvolumesystems,thesesystemsconserveenergythroughlowerfanspeeds
duringtimesoflowertemperaturecontroldemand.MostnewcommercialbuildingshaveVAVsystems.VAVsmaybe
bypasstypeorpressuredependent.PressuredependenttypeVAVssaveenergywhilebothtypeshelpinmaintaining
temperatureofthezonethatitfeeds.AbbreviatedVAV.
References [edit]
ModernRefrigerationandAirConditioning(August2003)byAlthouse,Turnquist,andBracciano,GoodheartWilcoxPublisher18th
edition
InternationalMechanicalCode(March6,2006)bytheInternationalCodeCouncil,ThomsonDelmarLearning1edition
ASHRAEHandbook:Fundamentals,Atlanta,GA,2009.
GreenBuildingandControlsGlossary ,byKMCControls,NewParis,IN,2013.
Categories: Glossaries Heating,ventilating,andairconditioning Buildingautomation