How An HVAC System Works

The HVAC (short for Heating, Ventilation and Air Condition) system in your home combines all of the necessary functions that are needed to keep the air temperature and ventilation in your house comfortable. The primary purpose of an HVAC system is to regulate the air's temperature and to circulate the air in your house. There are several components that work together in order to achieve this.

The air ways are the main means of moving air through homes. The ductwork is made of plastic tubes or sheet metal and carry the air to and out of the HVAC system, and then distributes the air via registers into the rooms of your house. The registers might be located in the ceilings, floors and/or walls of the house.

An HVAC system is controlled through a thermostat. The thermostat is the control box that allows you to set the system at the temperature you desire for heating as well as cooling purposes. Most thermostats these days are programmable, allowing you to change the temperature setting for different times of the day and night.

An HVAC system also has a ventilation system to move air from indoors to outdoors. The main purpose of the ventilation system is help you breathe easier. Usually ventilation systems are installed in the bathrooms and kitchen to help remove contaminants, humidity and odors that are in the air. Usually a ventilation system is regulated with a manual switch rather than regulated with a thermostat.

In HVAC systems that have separate heating and air conditioning systems, a furnace might be fueled by oil or gas. A fan forces over the flame heated elements and then the warmed up air is circulated into the various rooms of the house via the ductwork.

The way the air conditioning part of the HVAC system works is through the circulation of a chemical refrigerant via two parts in the system: the evaporator and condenser. What the condenser does is compress the refrigerant and send it over to the evaporator. As the air gets forced over the evaporator's cold coils it cools down. The cool air then gets blown out to the rooms of the house via the ductwork. The warm refrigerants then gets cycled back over to the compressor and the process then repeats itself.

There are some HVAC systems which have a heat pump instead of having a separate air conditioner and heater. The heat pump removes and adds heat that is in the air in your house. During the summer, the HVAC system's heat pump will extract the heat out of the external air and send it outdoors. During the winter, your heat pump will extract the heat that is contained in the outside air and then transfer it inside the home. HVAC systems using heat pumps often have a back up heating system as well for providing additional heat for extreme cold temperature conditions.

An HVAC is comprised of various components which all work together to keep your house cool, warm and the air properly ventilated and circulated. This helps you to breathe easier and keep your house at a comfortable temperature.