HVAC Terms You Should Know

At some time in your life, you will likely be faced with replacing your heating or air conditioning units and if you live in Northern Virginia, this means you will be talking to many different HVAC Manassas contractors.  It could be helpful if you understand some of the new terminology you will encounter.

HVAC

Acronyms are common in many businesses, heating and air conditioning is no exception. HVAC stands for Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning, which you must admit needed some shortening! Anytime you see HVAC Manassas you will know it refers to contractors in this particular local area dealing with heating, ventilation, and air conditioning.

R-410a

A few years ago, it was decided that the HVAC community would need to find a replacement for the refrigerant used in these systems. For over 4 decades, R22 was the refrigerant of choice, but it also contains chlorine, which is harmful to the environment. At the beginning of 2010, R-410a is to be the only refrigerant in use nationwide.

AFUE

Whenever you want to determine if it is time to replace the furnace you will want to know its AFUE rating. AFUE stands for Annual Fuel Utilization Ratio and determines how well your current unit is converting fuel into heat for your home.