A/C – Air conditioning also
referred to as A/C. A system
or device for reducing the
temperature, & humidity, in
a space.
AHAM – Acronym for
Associavion of Home Appliance
Manufacturers. AHAM
produces the official rating for
dehumidifiers.
BTU – British Thermal Unit.
A single BTU is the amount of
energy required to cool or heat
a pound of water one degree
Fahrenheit.
Condenser – The unit used to
condense a substance from
a gaseous state to liquid by
cooling it. Condensers are
generally recognized as heat
exchangers. In the case of air
conditioners they extract the
inside heat from the interior of
the air conditioner to the outside
air. Often referred to as “the
outdoor unit”.
Dehumidifier – Also called
Duhums. Dehumidifiers remove
humidity and are used to keep a
rooms humidity levels in check.
Maintaining correct humidity will
ensure a healthy crop. Too much
humidity will cause molds, rot
and devastate your crop.
Digital Inverter Compressor
– A digitally controlled
compressor that converts AC
voltage to DC voltage to control
compressor speed. The inverter
allows precise throttle control of
the conditioning unit based on
the load or need. Inverter units
are quieter, more efficient and
last longer.
Ductless Mini-Split – An
air conditioner or heat pump
that requires no duct work to
function. The unit hangs on the
wall or ceiling and cools or heats
the surrounding area.
Evaporator – The indoor
portion of the heat pump or
air conditioner. In a mini-split
system this hangs on the wall or
ceiling and provides the heating
or cooling of the space.
H/P – Heat Pump. A unit that
can operate as both an air
conditioner or a heater. When
it’s cold outside a heat pump
extracts the outside heat and
transfers it inside. When it’s
warm outside, it reverses
directions and acts like an air
conditioner, removing heat. A
heat pump moves heat instead
of generating it, giving you more
energy efficiency.
HSPF – Heating Seasonal
Performance Factor. The greater
the number/rating the more
efficient the heating. A 10 HSPF,
for example is a very good
rating.
Humidifier – Humidifiers use
water to put humidity in the
growing space. Many plants we
grow indoors are accustom to
growing outdoors in tropical
areas where humidity is high.
Also certain parts of the country
are dryer than others so you will
need to add humidity.
Line Set – Insulated copper
tubing used to connect the
evaporator and condenser.
The refrigerant travels back
and forth through the line set
between the evaporator and
condenser to create either
cooling or heating.
R-410 – A type of refrigerant.
Unlike alkyl halide refrigerants,
R-410A (which contains only
fluorine) does not contribute
to ozone depletion. Because
of that attribute it’s preferred
and used more broadly instead
of R-22 which are phased out.
R-410 refrigerants allow for
higher SEER ratings therein
reducing power consumption
and improving unit efficiency.
SEER – Seasonal Energy
Efficiency Ratio. The greater
the SEER rating, the more
efficient the cooling system. The
minimum SEER rating allowed by
the Federal Government is 14.
Ton – The size of air
conditioning unit (heating or
cooling) is common referred
to in “tons”. A one ton unit, for
example, is 12,000 BTU’s. A two
ton, 24,000 BTU’s, etc. This
was arrived at using a standard
of how long it would take to
melt ice. A one ton unit takes
12,000BTU’s of heat one hour to
melt a ton of ice.
VFD – Variable Frequency Drive.
The VFD is a an electrical device
that’s used to control the speed
and torque of an air conditioning
motor, like those used in an
inverter compressor.
GLOSSERY OF TERMS
