Flashcards: Heating, ventilating, and air conditioning

A dehumidifier is generally a household appliance which reduces the level of humidity in the air, usually for health or comfort reasons, or to eliminate musty odor.

A refrigerant is a substance or mixture, usually a fluid, used in a heat pump and refrigeration cycle.

A geothermal heat pump or ground source heat pump (GSHP) is a central heating and/or cooling system that transfers heat to or from the ground.

Refrigeration is a process of moving heat from one location to another in controlled conditions.

Chlorotrifluoroethylene (CTFE) is a chlorofluorocarbon with chemical formula CF2CClF.

A boiler is a closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated.

In thermodynamics, a heat engine is a system that converts heat or thermal energy—and chemical energy—to mechanical energy, which can then be used to do mechanical work.

Cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) is the use of a heat engine or power station to generate electricity and useful heat at the same time.

A cooling tower is a heat rejection device which rejects waste heat to the atmosphere through the cooling of a water stream to a lower temperature.

A heat pipe is a heat-transfer device that combines the principles of both thermal conductivity and phase transition to efficiently manage the transfer of heat between two solid interfaces.

A steam turbine is a device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft.

A thermostat is a component which senses the temperature of a system so that the system's temperature is maintained near a desired setpoint.

A thermistor is a type of resistor whose resistance is dependent on temperature, more so than in standard resistors.

A heat sink (also commonly spelled heatsink) is a passive heat exchanger that transfers the heat generated by an electronic or a mechanical device to a fluid medium, often air or a liquid coolant, where it is dissipated away from the device, thereby allowing regulation of the device's temperature at optimal levels.

The thermal design power (TDP), sometimes called thermal design point, is the maximum amount of heat generated by a computer chip or component (often the CPU or GPU) that the cooling system in a computer is designed to dissipate in typical operation.

A bimetallic strip is used to convert a temperature change into mechanical displacement.

A chiller is a machine that removes heat from a liquid via a vapor-compression or absorption refrigeration cycle.

Water heating is a thermodynamic process that uses an energy source to heat water above its initial temperature.

An antifreeze is an additive which lowers the freezing point of a water-based liquid.

In thermodynamics, the Joule–Thomson effect (also known as the Joule–Kelvin effect, Kelvin–Joule effect, or Joule–Thomson expansion) describes the temperature change of a real gas or liquid (as differentiated from an ideal gas) when it is forced through a valve or porous plug while kept insulated so that no heat is exchanged with the environment.

A thermocouple is an electrical device consisting of two different conductors forming electrical junctions at differing temperatures.

Water cooling is a method of heat removal from components and industrial equipment.

In electric power generation a combined cycle is an assembly of heat engines that work in tandem from the same source of heat, converting it into mechanical energy, which in turn usually drives electrical generators.

Other Types of Condensers In the world of Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC), condensers happen to be a topic of great importance.

Solar water heating (SWH) is the conversion of sunlight into renewable energy for water heating using a solar thermal collector.

A stove is an enclosed space in which fuel is burned to provide heating, either to heat the space in which the stove is situated, or to heat the stove itself and items placed on it.

Underfloor heating and cooling is a form of central heating and cooling which achieves indoor climate control for thermal comfort using conduction, radiation and convection.

Heating or cooling of processes, equipment, or enclosed environments are within the purview of thermal engineering.

In building design, thermal mass is a property of the mass of a building which enables it to store heat, providing "inertia" against temperature fluctuations.

Freezing, or solidification, is a phase transition in which a liquid turns into a solid when its temperature is lowered below its freezing point For most substances, the melting and freezing points are the same temperature; however, certain substances possess differing solid–liquid transition temperatures.

Displacement ventilation (DV) It is a room air distribution strategy where conditioned outdoor air is supplied at a low velocity from air supply diffusers located near floor level and extracted above the occupied zone, usually at ceiling height.

Automobile air conditioning (also called A/C) systems use air conditioning to cool the air in a vehicle.

Radiators are heat exchangers used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating.

Underfloor air distribution (UFAD) is an air distribution strategy for providing ventilation and space conditioning in buildings as part of the design of an HVAC system.

Thermal energy storage (TES) is achieved with greatly differing technologies that collectively accommodate a wide range of needs.

Vapor-Compression Refrigeration or vapor-compression refrigeration system (VCRS), in which the refrigerant undergoes phase changes, is one of the many refrigeration cycles and is the most widely used method for air-conditioning of buildings and automobiles.

A plenum space is a part of a building that can facilitate air circulation for heating and air conditioning systems, by providing pathways for either heated/conditioned or return airflows, usually at greater than atmospheric pressure.

Psychrometrics or psychrometry or hygrometry are terms used to describe the field of engineering concerned with the determination of physical and thermodynamic properties of gas-vapor mixtures.