What is HVAC? A Comprehensive Guide to Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning

Learn what HVAC stands for: heating, ventilation & air conditioning. Find out how it works & why it's becoming increasingly popular in new buildings.

What is HVAC? A Comprehensive Guide to Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning

Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) are the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its objective is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. In short, HVAC stands for heating, ventilation and air conditioning. This system provides heating and cooling to residential and commercial buildings.

You can find HVAC systems everywhere, from single-family homes to submarines, where they provide the means for environmental comfort. These systems, which are becoming increasingly popular in new buildings, use fresh outdoor air to provide high-quality indoor air. Ventilation (V) in HVAC is the process of replacing or exchanging air within a space. This provides better indoor air quality and involves eliminating moisture, smoke, odors, heat, dust, airborne bacteria, carbon dioxide and other gases, as well as temperature control and oxygen replacement.

HVAC systems are responsible for heating and cooling your home and include products such as ovens, air conditioners, heat pumps, as well as ducts, thermostats and other home comfort controls. In the past, HVAC was a term used only by industry professionals and people wealthy enough to afford it. Nowadays, however, the entire industry has opened up. Google is full of searches on “what is HVAC”.

In some cases, HVAC components can operate independently of each other. However, the most common thing is that each component works together with the others. These so-called “combined systems” include both central heating and air conditioning systems. Fresh air is obtained and introduced from the outside environment through a process called “ventilation”.

This can be done in two ways. We must be careful since most, if not all air conditioning units heat and cool today. This is referred to as a “heat pump” that essentially reverses the cooling cycle to provide heat. Nowadays, more and more buildings are dispensing with traditional “wet” systems as air conditioning systems have become more reliable and efficient against fossil fuels.

Sebastián Mondone
Sebastián Mondone

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