Glossary of Terms

Freon – Trade name of R-22 chlorofluorocarbon CFC used as refrigerant in air conditioners and refrigerators.

Puron – Trade name of new industry standard R-410A environmentally friendly refrigerant developed as replacement for R-22 Freon.

CFM – Cubic feet per minute, a standard of airflow measurement. A typical system produces 400CFM per ton of air conditioning.

Ton – A unit of measurement used for determining cooling capacity. One ton is the equivalent of 12,000 BTU’s per hour or the cooling effect of one Ton of ice.

BTU – British Thermal Unit. The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by 1 degree Fahrenheit. Measures the amount of heat a furnace will add or an air conditioner will remove from your home.

SEER – Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio. A measure of an air conditioner’s efficiency. The higher the SEER rating the better. 13 SEERs will provide 13 BTUs of cooling for every Watt of energy consumed after factoring in seasonal losses.

HVAC – Heating, ventilation and air conditioning.

IAQ – Indoor Air Quality

AFUE – Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency. Rates the efficiency of your gas furnace in converting fuel to energy. A 90 rating means that approximately 90% of the fuel is utilized to heat your home while 10% escapes as exhaust – after factoring in all annual losses.

VOC – Volatile Organic Compounds. Compounds that evaporate at room temperature containing carcinogenic elements of carbon C.

Micron – One millionth of a meter.

Hepa – High Efficiency Particulate Air. Hepa filters capture up to 99.97% of particles as small as 0.3 microns.

MERV – A rating of air filters based on a minimum particle capture size. A rating of 1 is least efficient with 16 being most efficient.

CADR – Clean Air Delivery Rate. A method for comparing air cleaning devices as to their efficiency and air flow rate by measuring the number of cubic feet per minute of air is cleaned of a specific material.