You can expect an experienced home comfort professional to clearly explain any HVAC terms that go along with the design, troubleshooting, repair or maintenance recommendations for your home heating and cooling system. Still, it pays for homeowners here in the Twin Cities metro area to be educated consumers. Here are some key HVAC contractor terms to be aware of:
- AFUE (annual fuel utilization efficiency): The total heat delivered by a furnace divided by the amount of f
uel used. Furnaces with 90-plus percent AFUE are considered high efficiency. - Btu (British thermal unit): The amount of heat necessary to increase the temperature of a pound of water by 1 degree Fahrenheit. The quantity of heat produced by burning a wooden kitchen match is roughly equal to a Btu.
- Capacity: Expressed in Btu per hour (Btu/h), this is the total amount of heat a heat pump or furnace produces hourly.
- COP (coefficient of performance): A performance measurement like the mpg (miles per gallon) of an automobile traveling at top speed. It’s the amount of energy input divided by heat produced.
- Heat pump: A refrigeration unit/air conditioner that can run in reverse. The pump transfers heat from outside air and releases it indoors to warm the house in cold weather. In summer, it does the opposite. Moving heat, as these pumps do, is much more energy efficient than generating heat as conventional heating systems do.
- HSPF (heating seasonal performance factor): Measures heat pump efficiency. It’s the average Btu of heat provided per watt-hour of electricity used, averaged over the whole heating season. This allows for the variability of weather over the season. HSPF is like the mpg of your automobile over the course of the whole year.
- Programmable thermostat: A smarter, more efficient thermostat that can be programmed to instruct your furnace to heat (or your A/C to cool) your home to preferred temperature settings at various times in the day. Choose energy- and money-saving settings for times when you’re away or sleeping.
Questions about HVAC contractor terms? Contact Marsh Heating & Air Conditioning for an explanation. We’re happy to help. Visit our website for valuable home comfort information or just call us.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about HVAC contractors and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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