Glossary of Terms


The number of cubic feet of clean air that an air filtration system delivers in a minute. The CADR is recognized across the industry as the indicator for air filter efficiency.


The compressor is the part of an outdoor unit that pumps refrigerant. The compressor maintains adequate pressure to cause refrigerant to flow and meet the cooling requirements of your home.


Ductless systems allow you to create a comfortable indoor environment in spaces where adding ductwork might be impractical. Easy-to-install ductless systems offer flexibility in design with two components – an outdoor unit and one or more compact indoor units.


The evaporator coil works with the indoor unit, functioning with the air conditioner or heat pump to cool and condition indoor air that flows over it by drawing out heat and moisture.


A heat pump is an electrically powered piece of equipment that heats and/or cools your home depending on the seasonality and need.


Valves or loops of pipe that allow water flow into the water heater tank but prevent unwanted hot-water flow out of the tank. The valves have balls inside that either float or sink into a seat, which stops convection.


HSPF is the most important measure for heat pumps. Heat pumps also have a SEER for their air conditioning function, but we don’t need much AC here, so we focus on HSPF. The federal standard is now 7.8 HSPF and ENERGY STAR® models are above 8.5 HSPF.


Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning.


A type of radiant heating system where the building floor contains channels or tubes through which hot fluids such as air or water are circulated. The whole floor is evenly heated, heating the room bottom up.


Refrigerant absorbs heat from the environment, and it can cool and dehumidify air when combined with other components such as compressors and evaporators.


A higher SEER rating means greater energy efficiency, similar to how a car with higher miles per gallon gets better fuel efficiency. Systems usually range from 13 to 23.


A split system is the combination of an outdoor unit and an indoor unit. Split systems are the most common HVAC systems in modern homes.


A system that monitors and regulates a heating or cooling system. It can be used to set the desired temperature at which it keeps the environment either heated or cooled.


A zoning system sections a building or a space into zones which are controlled independently of each other. This is beneficial when different areas or rooms of a building have different temperatures as well as when the desired temperatures in different rooms are different. Temperature is controlled by different thermostats.

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