Do You Know These Common, Industry-Specific HVAC Acronyms?

Like technical jargon common to any industry, HVAC acronyms are often utilized to refer to certain equipment, procedures, and specifications. While it’s not likely that you’ll want to insert HVAC acronyms into casual conversations with friends and family, it’s helpful to know the various meanings if they come up in written material or in discussions with your HVAC contractor or technician. Here’s a summary of the more common shorthand HVAC acronyms related to heating and cooling.

ACH. Air Changes Per Hour refers to the amount of times in an hour that an HVAC unit replaces the entire volume of air in a room or house with new cooled or heated air.

AFUE. Also known as Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency, this is a metric that expresses the efficiency of a gas furnace. Standard AFUE rating is 80%, while more efficient models offer AFUE higher than 90%.

ASHRAE. Short for American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers, the organization that develops and sets many technical standards and procedures utilized by the HVAC industry.

HEPA. It means High Efficiency Particulate Arresting. This type of specialized air filter removes airborne particulates down to the smallest size.

HSPF. Heating Seasonal Performance Factor is a figure that expresses heating-function efficiency in a heat pump. Because heat pumps provide both heating and cooling in a single unit, separate efficiency ratings are utilized for each function.

IAQ. It means Indoor Air Quality and refers to the healthy condition of the indoor environment.  IAQ addresses indoor pollution issues due to airborne particulates, fumes, and biological contaminants such as mold spores.

SEER. A metric specific to air-conditioner efficiency, it stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio and represents the amount of cooling power an AC unit provides per the amount of electrical energy consumed.

SHGF. Solar Heat Gain Coefficient refers to the heat-blocking efficiency of window glass. It’s a helpful shopping aid, as it indicates how effectively a window blocks solar heat in summer and reduces heat loss in winter.

Want to hear more HVAC acronyms and their proper definitions? Ask the pros at Hansberger Refrigeration and Electric Company.