Heating and cooling your home can be an expensive and time consuming prospect. This is especially true when you have to use multiple appliances to handle the task. At one time, this was actually the norm. People focused mostly on heating the home and cooled it as best they could. This usually included cross ventilation from properly spaced windows or circulating fans to move the air. Today, people use HVAC Equipment for these purposes. The HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) system is a dual purpose appliance that can heat or cool air as required. The whole system is controlled by a thermostat that samples the local temperature and switches on the furnace or AC as needed.
The typical HVAC is a centralized system that has an indoor unit, usually placed in an attic or custom closet, and an outdoor portion. The latter houses the condenser. This device compresses a refrigerant before it is cycled through the evaporator coil. Compressing the refrigerant causes a state change that helps the chemical collect heat. This heat is transferred through the evaporator coil and stored in the refrigerant to be released through the outer coil. The process of heat collection actually chills the metal of the evaporator coil which is then distributed through the home with the help of a blower fan.
Because the HVAC is a centralized unit, it requires a series of air ducts to carry the treated air. The typical air duct is a large metal or fiberglass conduit that can be a bit bulky. They are typically run in the attic or under the floor, depending on how the home is designed. An alternative to this type of air duct is the high velocity duct system. This is a small pipe that can be easily installed in the walls or between joists and usually requires very little demolition during installation. This means that the system is perfect for retrofitting an older building or upgrading a historical project.
An alternative to standard HVAC Equipment is the split or ductless AC. This system is similar to the HVAC with an outdoor condenser, but it breaks the home into separate zones for cooling. It does this by using small indoor units to cool specific rooms. The beauty of this system is your ability to keep one space cool without wasting energy on rooms that you aren’t currently using.
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