Heating and Cooling 101

Heating system components include the heat exchanger, burners, ductwork and vent pipes, or flues. A gas-powered heating system's thermal energy efficiency is measured by a standard known as the AFUE. The AFUE indicates the efficiency by which fuel is converted to energy, and it ranges between 80 and 98 percent. The higher the AFUE number, the more efficiently the unit converts gas fuel to warm air, which means the more energy efficient the unit will be. The more energy efficient the heating system, the more money the property owner will save in energy costs over the course of a season.

Three main integrated systems provide the functionality for a standard central air conditioning unit: the condenser, the air handler (or an indoor gas powered furnace with a coil) and ductwork. The components of an AC unit include a compressor, a fan, the condenser coil, the evaporation coil and refrigerant. These components all work together to cool your space. If one component fails, your AC system will fail to deliver cool air to your home or small business.

An air conditioning system's energy efficiency is measured by its SEER rating. The higher the SEER, the more energy efficient the unit. For new AC units, the SEER ratings start at 13 and can go as high as the upper 20s. However, most newer residential units have a SEER between 13 and the low to mid-20s.