When purchasing a new heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) unit for your home, you will likely come across several terms and acronyms that largely resemble alphabet soup. While they may seem like a random assortment of letters and numbers, that jumble of letters can have a large impact on how efficiently a system works in your home. As such, knowing what certain terms mean when buying an HVAC system is essential. To learn about some of the most important terms to know when purchasing an HVAC unit, continue reading.
BTU
One of the most important terms to know when purchasing an HVAC unit is BTU. BTU is an acronym for British Thermal Unit and refers to the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of one point of energy by a single degree in Fahrenheit.
Essentially, the BTU rating will give you an idea of how effective the HVAC unit will be at heating and cooling your home. If the BTU rating is too small, then the system won’t have enough power to successfully control your home’s temperature. The exact BTU rating that you should look for in an HVAC system will depend on several different factors such as your space’s size, your home’s location, and how well your home is insulated.
SEER
Another acronym that you should keep a close eye out for when purchasing a new HVAC system is SEER. Standing for seasonal energy efficiency ratio, the SEER rating on an HVAC unit indicates the cooling output of an HVAC system in BTUs divided by the watts that it uses each hour.
In other words, the SEER rating will give you a good idea of how energy efficient your HVAC is. The higher the SEER rating that the HVAC system has, the more energy efficient it will typically be. Because your HVAC unit is most likely the largest consumer of energy in your home, choosing a more energy-efficient system can have a large impact on your monthly energy bill. As such, keep a close eye out for this acronym when choosing a new unit.
AFUE
Also pertaining to efficiency, the acronym AFUE stands for annual fuel efficiency ratio. This ratio refers to the amount of fuel the HVAC system converts to heat vs. how much fuel is lost through exhaust. The higher the AFUE rating is, the more efficient the HVAC system is.
To provide some perspective, an HVAC system with medium efficiency will typically have a rating between 80 and 85 percent. High-efficiency units, on the other hand, will have an AFUE rating above 90 percent.
