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“Never Settle For Less Than Excellence”

Engineering Excellence HVAC Retrofit Keyword Dictionary

ASHRAE: American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers. ASHRAE, founded in 1894, is a global society advancing human well-being through sustainable technology for the built environment. The Society and its members focus on building systems, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, refrigeration and sustainability within the industry. Through research, standards writing, publishing and continuing education, ASHRAE shapes tomorrow’s built environment today. ASHRAE was formed by the merger in 1959 of American Society of Heating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHAE) founded in 1894 and The American Society of Refrigerating Engineers (ASRE) founded in 1904. See https://ashrae.org/

Blower: (Fan) An air handling device for moving air in a distribution system. A blower can move great quantities of air through duct systems that initiate friction to air passage. The blower in this photo is drawing air through a cooling coil on the left and is powered by the belt on the right side of the photo. The left side of the blower is open to draw air into the blower wheel. The control in the forefront samples the passing air to determine if smoke is present. If the smoke sensor detects products of combustion in the air it will terminate blower operation

BMS/EMS (Building Management System or Energy Management System): A user interface system to monitor or control equipment, including lighting, based upon occupancy or energy savings opportunities.

Close out Documents: Forms to assure the tenant or owner that a scope of work contracted was performed to their specifications. Typically include photos, startup sheets, final permit, and lien waivers.

https://ashrae.org/home



Condensate: The liquid that separates from a gas due to a reduction in temperature, e.g., water that condenses from flue gases and water that condenses from air circulating through the cooling coil in air conditioning equipment. The dew point temperature is the temperature at which the water vapor in the air becomes saturated and starts to condense into water droplets. If the air is saturated with moisture, its relative humidity would be 100% and rain or condensation would be imminent. The air conditioner not only reduces temperature to assure comfort, but removes moisture which drains into the condensate drain pan and out through the condensate trap.

Cost of Ownership: The financial estimate intended to help buyers and owners determine the direct and indirect costs of a product. For HVAC--- total costs include the sum of the initial cost of the mechanical equipment, maintenance, repair expense and energy costs. Some companies will also include costs such as downtime, lost sales in transactions per hour, productivity etc in analyzing total Cost of Ownership. When examining a Return On Investment (ROI) or payback for replacing old equipment with new more energy efficient equipment, savings are reviewed to finalize calculations considering utility rebates and tax incentives as well as energy and repair savings.

Crane: A type of machine, generally equipped with a hoist, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves, which can be used both to lift and lower materials.



Curb: A raised portion of the roof used to locate a roof top unit.

Curb Adaptor: A transition made from sheet intended to adapt a new HVAC unit of different size to an existing curb.

Damper: A movable baffle in the duct work of your heating and cooling system that can open or close to control the amount of warm or cool air entering or leaving certain areas of your home. A motorized damper is typically used in a zoned system, like ZTE. A bladed device used to vary the volume of air passing through the air outlet, air inlet, or duct.



Disconnect: An electrical device consisting of switches, fuses or circuit breakers used to isolate electrical equipment for service or repair.

Disposal: HVAC equipment must be disposed of properly, in accordance with local and federal jurisdictions. (See also EPA).

Economizer: A mechanical device used to reduce energy consumption by using outside air to temper a space. When the temperature of the outside air is cooler than the recirculated air and desired humidity levels are present, the economizer can decide to use the outside air to cool the space. Energy savings is accomplished

by not running the mechanical cooling as often. Another term that is important when talking about economizers is Enthalpy, as it is the term used to indicate the total heat content of one pound of air and is measured in BTU’s per pound. We use a wet bulb thermometer to measure enthalpy.



EER, Energy Efficiency Ratio: A ratio calculated by dividing the cooling capacity in Btu's per hour (Btuh) by the power input in watts at any given set of rating conditions, expressed in Btuh per watt (Btuh/watt). EER & SEER cannot be compared equally. EER refers to laboratory conditions while SEER changes with the inside and outside conditions, falling as the temperature difference between inside and outside gets larger. Typically smaller tonnage equipment will have both

an EER and an SEER rating. When looking at higher efficiency equipment options most ratings are in EER for equipment 7.7 ton and greater. An example in layman’s terms is an EER of 11 means 11 BTUS’s of heat are removed with one watt of electric used by an AC system. A BTU of heat is the amount

of heat required to raise 1 lb of water one degree Fahrenheit. Thomas A Winstel, expert HVAC connoisseur loved to explain that one BTU is the equivalent heat generated by one of your grandma’s old long wooden kitchen match sticks. It will generate enough heat as it burns down to raise the temperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit.

Efficiency: A rating on comfort equipment is similar to the miles per gallon rating on your car. The ratio of useful output energy of a piece of equipment to input energy.

EPA, Environmental Protection Agency: The regulatory agency of the Federal Government charged with overseeing issues pertaining to air and water quality. http://www.epa.gov/

Equipment Lift: A mechanical device used to raise or lower material. Sometimes referred to as scissor lift, boom,

http://www.epa.gov/



Equipment Receiving and Inspection Sign-Off Form: Installation crew to verify that the proper equipment was received and is not damaged.

Final inspection: Refers to the activity of the local municipalities to approve or accept the work that was permitted in accordance with local building codes.

FLA: (Full Load Amps), the maximum amperage a motor consumes at the height of its capacity. FLA is a “rule of thumb” value not to exceed, or damage may occur to the motor.

Flashing: thin pieces of impervious material installed to prevent the passage of water into a structure from a joint or as part of a weather resistant barrier.

Gantry: frame structure raised on side supports so as to span over or around something.



Gas Shut off: a valve to shut off the flow of gas to a unit in order to provide service or replacement.

GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter): is a fast-acting circuit breaker designed to shut off electric power in the event of a ground-fault within as little as 1/40 of a second. It works by comparing the amount of current going to and returning from equipment along the circuit conductors.

Heating Type: Refers to the type of heating source a unit employs to temper a space. Examples are: Natural Gas, Propane, or electric resistance.

HP (Horsepower): Generally speaking in electrical terms, horsepower rating is the work output available from the shaft of an electric motor when it is operating at full load. As a general average, about 85% of the electric power input to an electric motor is available for productive use on the shaft. Many will refer to HP as the rating of a motor. A horsepower is equal to 746 W of electrical power or 0.746 kW. One horsepower is work being done at a rate of 33,000 ft-lb/min. One foot-pound is the work necessary to raise a weight of 1 pound a vertical distance of 1 foot. A 1 hp motor running at full load is doing 33,000 ft-lb of work every minute it runs. No person can do work at the rate of 1 hp, and neither can a horse, except for very short bursts of energy.



Kilowatt (KW): Equal to 1,000 watts. One watt (W) is the SI unit of power or one joule per second. 1 kW = 10 3 W; and the megawatt is 10 6 W

Kilowatt-hour: The work done in one hour by an agent working at the constant rate of one kilowatt. Since such an agent does 1000 J of work each second, the work done in 1 hr is 3600 X 1000 = 3,6000,000 J:

1 kWh = 3.6 X 10 6 J = 3.6 MJ.

Note the kilowatt-hour is a unit of work or energy, not power.

Model #: Catalog number or reorder number that identifies the make and option for the product. Typically model numbers can be deciphered to determine the tonnage of a HVAC packaged unit

New Equipment Submittal Sign-Off Form: A form used to sign off and verify that new OEM HVAC equipment and adaptor curbs submittals were compared to existing equipment being replaced prior to ordering new equipment.

OEM: Original Equipment Manufacturer. The original manufacturer of the part or piece of equipment.

Payback Analysis: An overall measurement of the efficiency and value of your heating and air conditioning system. Payback analysis is used to measure the period of time required to add up the energy saving on higher efficient equipment against the purchase price of that equipment. Or to calculate the monthly energy savings against the monthly payments to purchase an upgrade.

Permit: Construction must be inspected during construction and after completion to ensure compliance with national, regional, and local building codes. Failure to obtain a permit can result in significant fines and penalties, and even demolition of unauthorized construction if it cannot be made to meet code.



Rebates: A return or refund on what has already been paid or contributed. It is a type of promotion that is used to incentivize or supplement product sales. Many time tax incentives or utility rebates are offered as a promotion to replace old inefficient HVAC units with new high efficiency units and can help generate an improved payback and return on your investment

Refrigerant Recovery: is the act of processing used refrigerant gas which has previously been used in some type of cooling loop such that it meets specifications for new refrigerant gas. In the United States, the Clean Air Act of 1990 requires that used refrigerant be processed by a certified reclaimer, which must be licensed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the material must be recovered and delivered to the reclaimer by EPA-certified technicians.

Replacement Unit Checklist: Information gathered to determine the proper equipment is ordered and that the performance will remain the same after the replacement

Safety Equipment: (Personal Protective Equipment) refers to protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection.

SEER: Abbreviation for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio. This is the measurement used to rate the efficiency for a cooling system that can also be used for heating (i.e. containing a heat pump. The higher the SEER, the more efficient the system. Please see EER for more information.

Sensor: a transducer whose purpose is to sense (that is, to detect) some characteristics such as temperature, humidity or light. It detects events or changes in quantities and provides a corresponding output, generally as an electrical or optical signal.

Serial #: Identification number that will typically include date of manufacture and location of manufacture and is a means of tracking the build of the unit.



Site Survey: To visit a site with the intent to gather all pertinent data regarding existing equipment or conditions and to identify any hurdles that may prevent laborers from performing their work safely and efficiently.

Smoke detector: a device that senses smoke as an indication of fire. Located either in a roof top unit or return ductwork.

Startup: Carry out a series of measurements to determine that the unit is installed properly and that it is operating per the manufacturers specifications.

Start-up Form: Recording of the measurements made during the startup

Structural Reinforcement: to provide increased load capacities in existing buildings and structures or their individual parts. The need for structural reinforcement usually occurs in cases where the load-bearing structures no longer meet the requirements for normal use as a result of higher loads or the changes were made in order to accommodate a new piece of equipment.

Structural Review: to determine if a new or existing structure can sufficiently support a load. To be performed and stamped by a licensed structural engineer.

Submittals: consists of the manufacturer’s product information and specifications. An "approved" submittal authorizes quantity and quality of a material or an assembly to be released for fabrication and shipment.

Thermostat: Or t-stat, a component of an HVAC system which senses the temperature of a space. Often used as the user interface for heating and cooling.



Ton: A sizing measure for the capacity of air conditioners and heat pumps. A ton is the total BTU capacity of a system. One ton is equal to the BTU's required to melt one ton of ice in a 24 hour period. There are 12,000 BTU's in a ton, a 2 ton air conditioner will produce 24,000 BTU's, and a 3 ton will produce 36,000 BTU's and so on... The size of the area to be cooled will determine the correct size of the system in tons. Published capacity ratings are based on ARI standard temperatures of 95°F, outside and 80°F inside, but the actual capacity of a system changes with outdoor and indoor temperatures.

Unit Tie-down: Means of securing an HVAC unit. Also referred to as “hurricane straps” or “seismic clips”.

Voltage: Voltage is electrical pressure in the electrical system. Volts (electrical pressure) in a closed electrical system causes current to flow. No volts, no pressure, nothing happens or flows In a direct relationship, the higher the pressure in a given system, the more flow this pressure can cause. Electrical engineers design electrical supply systems to supply the customer with 120/208V or 240V or 480 V delta etc. Regardless of the supply voltage, the denomination in voltage is electrical pressure to cause current to flow. This term is named for Allesandro Volta, an Italian who invented the battery. It again represents a source of energy or the electrical potential between two points.

Weight analysis for permitting and to minimize risk: The existing and new unit weights along with curbs are compared to ensure that additional load is not added to a structure or building.