HVAC - Heating, Ventilation and air conditioning.

ARI - Air Conditioning and refrigeration institute is a non-profit, voluntary organization made up of manufacturers of air conditioning, refrigeration and heating products. It publishes standards for testing and rating heat pumps and air conditioners. This information provides the consumer with a standardized unit of comparison between equiptment from various manufacturers and ensures a level of quality withint the industry. ARI publishes a directory of ratings twice per year.

DOE - The Department of Energy is an agency of the federal government. It monitors the consumption of all energy sources.

GAMA - The Gas Appliance Manufactures Association is a national trade association whose members manufacture over 90% of the gas applicances made in the United States. It has developed efficiency certification programs which verify manufacturers efficiency ratings twice per year.

WATT - (W) A Watt is a unit of electricity.

KILOWATT - (KW) A kilowatt is 1000 WATTS.

KILOWATT HOUR - (KWH) A kilowatt hour is the amount of kilowatt of electricity used in one hour of operation.

BTU - British thermal unit is the amount of heat that will raise or lower the tempaerature of one pound of water by one degree fahrenheit.

BTUH - BTU's per hour of operation.

TON - BTUH/12,000. For instance: A 36,000 BTUH unit is 3 tons (36000/12,000 =3). Heat pumps and air conditioners are sized in tons. Typical sizes for single family residences are between 2 and 5 tons. Note that acutal capacity is not constant and will change depending upon outdoor or indoor temperature. The published capacity rating of a unit depends on its performance at the ARI specified standard temperature levels.

SEER - Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ration describes the relationship between BTU or capacity of a unit and the amount of electricity or WATT hours required to run the unit. This ratio is based on normal annual usage. Units with high SEER ratings use less electricity to cool your home. This means that your electric bill will be lower with a high SEER unit.

ARI - Air Conditioning and refrigeration institute is a non-profit, voluntary organization made up of manufacturers of air conditioning, refrigeration and heating products. It publishes standards for testing and rating heat pumps and air conditioners. This information provides the consumer with a standardized unit of comparison between equiptment from various manufacturers and ensures a level of quality withint the industry. ARI publishes a directory of ratings twice per year.

HSPF - Heating Seasonal Performance Factor, for heating with a heat pump which is similiar to SEER ratings for cooling. However, the scale is different. An HSPF ratio compares the heating output (capacity) of the heat pump during its normal annual usage to the electrical pwer required to generate that BTUH/WATT. The 1992 DOE standards will require a minimum HSPF of 6.80.

COP - Coefficient Of Performance is a ratio that compares the heating capacity of a heat pump to the amount of electricity required to operate the heat pump (3.413 XBTUH/WATT). COP's will vary with the outside temperature. Colder temperatures require the system to use more energy to maintain a level of heating capacity. COP's are lower.

AFUE - Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency is the rating used for gas, propane or oil furnaces. It is based on average use including on and off cycling. As with other ratings, the higher the rating the more efficient the furnace will be. These ratings are publised either in the ARI Directory for Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps or the GAMA Directory for Furnaces.

INDOOR UNITS - Heat pump and air conditioning systems consist of two parts: the outdoor unit containing the compressor and the indoor unit with a blower and coil. Combinations of different indoor and outdoor units will result in different energy ratings.

EFFICIENCY - High efficiency is vaguely designed as an HVAC system that supplies more heating or cooling for each energy dollar invested than lower efficiency systems.
Until recently, a unit with a SEER of 8.00 was considered standard efficiency. The use of more efficiient equiptment can provide cost and energy savings. The DOE has established beginning in 1992, 10.00 SEER as a minimum performance level. All manufacturers must be in compliance with minimum standards in 1993/1994. Utility rates vary around the country, so there is no set cost for particular SEER ratings.
As an example: A consumer requiring a 2 ton system can save about $60.00/year by upgrading from an 8.00 SEER system to a 10.00 SEER system. Increasing to a 12.00 SEER would increase the annual savings to about $100.00. Larger systems can double that amount.

SOUND RATINGS - In addition to performance ratings, units also have an operating sound level rating which measures how quiet your unit is.

DECIBEL - A decibel describes the relative loudness of a noise.

BEL - A BEL is a decibel divided by 10.

SR - Sound Rating is measured in BELS. The SR of a unti is established by tests performed at ARI standard rating conditions. Although SR has no financial savings, it can directly affect your comfort. Average sound ratings range from 6.50 to 8.50. Lower numbers indicate more quiet units.