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Energy Efficiency

Glossary of Terms

ARI -The Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Institute is a non-profit, voluntary organization comprised of manufacturers of air conditioning, refrigeration and heating products. It publishes standards for testing and comparison between equipment of various manufacturers.

ARI Reference Number - A number assigned to a condenser/coil combination by the ARI. The number facilitates the verification of the equipment's SEER.

BTU - British thermal unit is the amount of heat that will raise or lower one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. The British Thermal Unit is a standard of measure for cooling capacities. For your home, it represents the measure of heat extracted from your home for cooling.

Btu/h - Btu/h is how many Btus are extracted from your home per hour.

Central Air Conditioner - A central air conditioner is equipment designed to provide cooled air from a central unit to a whole house using fans and ducts.

EER - Energy efficiency ratio is a measure of how efficiently a cooling system will operate when the outdoor temperature is at a specific level (usually 95 degrees F). A higher EER means the system is more energy efficient.

Heat Pump - A heat pump is a reverse cycle air conditioner. When you run your air conditioner, your outdoor unit will be blowing hot air, (in other words, removing the heat from your home and sending it outside). When you run your heat pump, you reverse the flow of refrigerant and remove the heat from the atmosphere outside and blow it inside.

Kilowatt (kW) - A kilowatt equals 1,000 Watts. (See Watt)

SEER - Seasonal energy efficiency ratio measures how efficiently a residential central cooling system will operate over an entire cooling season, as opposed to a single outdoor temperature. As with EER, a higher SEER reflects a more energy efficient cooling system.

Thermal Expansion Valve (TXV) - The TXV is a component in the cooling system that controls the rate of refrigerant flow into the evaporator coil. This is done by means of a temperature sensing bulb that causes the valve to open or close in response to temperature changes in the coil. A TXV increases the efficiency of an air conditioner.

Ton - Air conditioners and heat pumps are commonly sized in tons. Typical sizes for single family residences are between two and five tons. Each ton equals 12,000 Btu/h. 

Watt (W) - A Watt is a unit of electric power. The amount of power required by electric appliances is expressed in watts. 


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