If you’re not an expert in air conditioning in Kissimmee, you have probably heard the AC repairman or woman using terms that you may only have a slight clue, if any at all, as to the meaning. Below, we will demystify some of the air conditioning jargon out there.
- ACCA – Air Conditioning Contractors of America. This is the trade association for the AC industry.
- Air flow – The amount of air your duct system moves.
- Air handler – If your home has a split system air conditioner, this box holds in the indoor piece’s guts. It also contains the blower and evaporator coil.
- Boot – Sheet metal transition piece. It has a grille or register on one side and connects to the duct on the other.
- Checking the charge – This determines how much refrigerant is in the system.
- Compressor – An AC makes noise, for the most part, as a result of this piece. It is found in the condensing unit, the outside portion of your AC, and its job is to raise the pressure and temperature of the refrigerant.
- ΔT (Delta T) – Simply put, it is temperature difference.
- Ductless mini-split – Outside of America, this is what the world uses for air conditioning. Smaller, this split system heat pump usually has no ducts. In the head resides the blower and evaporator coil mounted on a ceiling or wall in the room being cooled.
- EER – Efficiency rating. It is used for geothermal (ground source) heat pumps and window unit ACs.
- Geothermal heat pump – This is the standard heat pump. It pulls or dumps heat to or from a body of water or the ground. It is also known as ground source heat pump (GSHP).
- Grille – Seen in return vents, it is a type of non-operable cover.
- Heat pump – The kind of air conditioner can run in reverse. This means in summer, it moves heat from the inside to the outside, and in the winter, it moves heat from the outside to the inside.
- HVAC – This is the acronym that covers the entire field of heating, ventilating, and air conditioning.
- Latent heat – This is the heat that must be removed from the air to rid it of moisture.
- Line set – These are the two refrigerant lines that connect the evaporator coil to the condensing unit.
- Load calculation – One part of the HVAC design, it determines the amount of heat a house loses or gains from duct losses, by internal gains (people, appliances, etc.) and through the building envelope.
- Media air cleaner – Made of materials, called media, it better filters your HVAC system. It does a better job at catching the small particles that pass through your duct system.
- MERV – It stands for minimum efficiency reporting value, and it is used as a rating for HVAC filters. If the number is higher, it means the filter catches more.
- PTAC – Stands for package terminal air conditioner and is what you see in most hotel rooms through the wall unit.
- Refrigerant – This is the working fluid that carries the heat.
- Register – Only sometimes will you find this type of cover on a return vent. All the other times, this cover will be seen in a supply vent.
- SEER – For central air conditioners, this is the efficiency rating used.
- Supply – This is the side of the duct system that sends conditioned air back into the house. When the AC is on, supply vents have cool air coming out of them.
- Tons of air conditioning – The capacity of the air conditioner, not the weight. A three-ton air conditioner can remove 36,000 Btu from your home in just one hour.
Now that you know the lingo, you may be better equipped to have a conversation with an AC professional should he or she need to come by and work on your unit. And, if that day ever does come, you can count on the experts in air conditioning in Kissimmee, All Temp. Give us a call at 407-857-7800, or contact us online.
