HVAC Terms

At Precision Heating & Air, we want our customers to be as informed as possible, so that you can make the most educated decision about your heating and cooling systems. With over a decade of experience and a continued commitment to ongoing training, we have helped countless homeowners and property managers find innovative and reliable solutions to their every HVAC need. 

We are sharing some of the most frequently used jargon in our industry, so you feel comfortable and confident discussing your systems with one of our technicians.

HVAC Glossary:

• Absolute Pressure: Often denoted with the subscript “abs”, absolute pressure is a pressure that is relative to the zero pressure of a perfect vacuum.
• Absolute Temperature: The temperature of an object on a scale where 0 is taken as absolute zero—being measured using Kelvin and Rankine.
• Absolute Zero Temperature: This is the temperature at which a thermodynamic system has the lowest energy. It corresponds to -273.15C on the Celsius scale and to -459.67F on the Fahrenheit scale. No electronic device can operate at this temperature.
• Absorbent: The ability to take in and hold liquid.
• Absorption Refrigerator: A refrigerator that uses a heat source, like solar energy or distinct heating system, which provides the energy needed to drive the cooling process. The principle can be used to air condition buildings through the use of waste heat from a gas turbine or water heater. As the gas turbine is producing electricity, hot water, and air conditioning, absorption refrigerator systems are very efficient.
• ACCA: Standing for The Indoor Environment & Energy Efficiency Association, the ACCA is a non-profit association whose membership includes more than 60,000 professionals and 4,000 businesses. This association works together to promote professional contracting, energy efficiency, and healthy, comfortable indoor environments.
• Accumulator: A storage tank which receives liquid refrigerant from an evaporator and prevents it from flowing into the suction line before vaporizing.
• AFUE: The Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency is the amount of fuel converted to space heat in proportion to the amount of fuel entering the boiler or furnace. This does not include the electricity consumption of the fan and controls, and is expressed as a percentage.
• AHRI: The Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute is the trade association representing manufacturers of both HVACR and water heating equipment throughout the globe.