Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning - HVAC

HVAC is the acronym for Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning.

These three elements refer to the equipment, distribution network and terminals that either collectively or individually provide heating, air conditioning or ventilation for your home. Your HVAC system has a significant effect on the health and comfort of you and your family as well as your ongoing energy expenses.

Your objective when working with your architect or designer is to engineer your home to have a tight building envelope. The tighter the envelope, the better the air quality and greater the energy savings are to you. A tight envelope requires looking at the whole house design, with the HVAC systems being an integral part of the design. In addition to the HVAC systems, the whole house design philosophy considers your site, energy, materials, indoor air quality, acoustics, natural resources, and their interrelation. Whole-building design takes into consideration the building structure and systems and examines how these systems work best together to save energy and reduce environmental impact. For example, a building that uses extensive daylighting techniques will reduce the amount of heat given off by lighting fixtures, thus allowing for a smaller air conditioning system.