General Terms

HVAC:
Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning

ARI:
The Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute is a nonprofit, voluntary organization of manufacturers of air conditioning, refrigeration, and heating products. It publishes standards for testing and rating heat pumps and air conditioners in order to provide the consumer with a standardized unit of comparison between equipment of various manufacturers.

GAMA:
Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association

DOE:
The Department of Energy is the federal agency in charge of monitoring the consumption of energy sources.

Watt(W):
A Watt is a unit of electricity.

Kilowatt(kW):
A kilowatt is 1,000 units of electricity.

Kilowatt Hour(kWh):
A kilowatt hour is the amount of kilowatts of electricity used in one hour of operation.

Therm:
A therm is a unit of measure for natural gas. You will find this term used on your gas bill.

BTU:
A British Thermal Unit is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water (about one pint) by one degree Fahrenheit.

Btuh:
Btu’s per hour

Ton:

A ton s a unit of measure for the cooling capacity of an air conditioner or a heat pump. To determine the number of tons of cooling you must take the Btu’s per hour and divide by 12,000 (Btuh/12,000). Typical sizes for single family residences are between 2-5 tons. For example, a 3-ton air conditioner will remove 36,000 Btuh (3 X 12,000).

The actual capacity of the unit will change based on indoor and outdoor conditions. The published rating of a unit is based on its performance at the ARI standard temperature levels: 95°deg;F outdoors, and 80°deg;F indoors.