Reliant Inspection Service

30 years customer service experience
Fully licensed and insured .
Member of the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (InterNACHI)
Inspectors complete annual continuing
education training.
Inspectors are knowledgeable, courteous and professional We provide computerized reports with color photos.
Dependable service.
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Serving Dupage, Kane, and Cook counties and the greater Chicago area.

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HOME OWNER TIPS

Let's start at the beginning: HVAC stands for Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning
and are the initials often used to describe the industry that produces the equipment
that brings comfort to your home.

AFUE - This is a percentage measurement of a furnace's heating efficiency.
The U.S. Government's minimum efficiency level is 78%. The higher the AFUE,
the more efficient the furnace. The initials stand for Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency.

ENERGY STAR - Products/Homes/Buildings that earn the ENERGY STAR
prevent greenhouse gas emissions by meeting strict energy efficiency guidelines
set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy.
To learn more, please visit U.S. Department of Energy

SEER - This is a measurement of the efficiency of cooling products. The U.S.
Government's minimum efficiency level is 10 SEER for split systems and 9.7 for
packaged units. The higher the SEER, the more efficient the cooling product.
SEER stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating.

HSPF - This is a measurement of a heat pump's heating efficiency.
There is no governmental minimum rating. The higher the HSPF, the more
efficient the heat pump's heating performance. HSPF stands for Heating
Seasonal Performance Factor.

A Note About Efficiencies: When you're getting ready to replace an older heating or
cooling system, it's very important for you to get a Load Calculation done
by your dealer/contractor. The greater the difference between the efficiency of
your old system to the new system, the more likelihood that the dealer will
recommend a smaller sized unit. This should not cause alarm, as the dealer,
by running a Load Calculation, will be able to accurately size the system to the
load in your home. It can be quite detrimental to equipment if the units are too
large for the load in your home - they can start to "short cycle" (they run often
but for very short periods of time, because they are pumping out too much
heat/cooling and reach the thermostat's setting too quickly), which can shorten
the life of the unit dramatically.

BTU - British Thermal Unit. This is the amount of heat required to raise the
temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. You'll see this
measurement when you look at heating and cooling capacities - for example,
your dealer may recommend a 75,000 Btu furnace and a 24,000 Btu air
conditioner for your home.

A Note About Capacities: Gas furnaces are generally rated by "input" in Btus per
hour (Btuh). A furnace rated at 100,000 Btuh that is 80% efficient (80% AFUE)
will have an output of 80,000 Btuh. In other words, 80% of the total heat produced
by burning the gas will be in the form of usable heat to warm your home. The
other 20% is exhausted from your house along with the flue products.

By the same token, a 100,000 Btuh furnace that is 90% efficient only sends 10%
of the total heat out the chimney - thus burning less gas to get the same
results and reducing your gas heating costs.

GPH - Gallons Per Hour. You might see this rating if you are looking at an
oil furnace. In addition to input and output, an oil furnace also has a rating
of gallons per hour, the volume of oil a furnace is capable of burning in 60 minutes.

A Note About Oil Furnaces: Many oil furnaces are dual rated. That is, they are
listed with two different heating capacities. For example, your oil furnace might
be rated as:

Input 140,000 Btuh	Input 154,000 Btuh
Output 113,000 Btuh	Output 125,000 Btuh
.85 gph	1.00 gph

This means that at the lower rating, the furnace is capable of producing 113,000
Btus of usable heat per hour to heat your home. And, if it ran constantly for one hour,
t would consume .85 gallons of oil. If, however, your dealer sets up your oil
furnace to operate at the higher rating, it would produce 125,000 Btus of
usable heat per hour, and use 1.00 gallons of oil. Whether your oil furnace
is set up by your dealer to operate at the higher or lower rating depends on that
all important Load Calculation. By properly sizing the furnace to your home,
you will be assured of maximum comfort, energy savings and extended
equipment life.

COP - Coefficient Of Performance. A ratio that compares a heat pump system's
heating efficiency to that of electric resistance heat. For example, a heat pump
system with a COP of 3.0 provides heat at 3 times the efficiency of electric
resistance heat. A heat pump's system COP will decrease as outdoor
temperatures drop, eventually providing little or no efficiency advantage
over electric resistance heat - and that's when your auxiliary heat strips
start to heat your home.

Ton - You'll often see this as a measurement of the capacity of an air
conditioning system. Don't panic, it doesn't measure weight! Just like
gas and oil furnaces, air conditioners and heat pumps are rated in
Btus. One ton of air conditioning is 12,000 Btus per hour. This means
that a "one ton" air conditioning system has the capability of removing
12,000 Btus of heat per hour from your home.

A Note About Air Conditioning: You've heard the saying "It's not the heat, it's t
he humidity." Air conditioning systems do more that just cool your home -
they remove moisture. The more humid it is outside, the harder an air
conditioner has to work. But does that mean that if you get a bigger unit,
it will work better? NO. An air conditioning system that is too large will
neither cool nor dehumidify properly, and the result will be an uncomfortable,
clammy home.

Ambient Temperature - This is the air temperature (usually the outdoor
air temperature) surrounding the equipment.

Split System - This describes an air conditioning or heat pump system that is
split into two sections - an outdoor section and an indoor section. It won't
work without the outdoor section plus an indoor section to move the air.

Condensing Unit - This is the outdoor section of a split system air
conditioning system. You'll know it best as the air conditioner that sits outside
your home.

Air Handler - This is the indoor section of a split system. It can be a dedicated
air handler, or could be your furnace. Also known as a fan-coil.

Indoor/Evaporator Coil - If your furnace is the air handler section of your split
system, then you'll need an indoor coil added to your furnace to complete the
system. The coil transfers heat to give you cool air and also aids in dehumidification.

Heat Pump - A unit that both cools and heats your home. A heat pump system
can be either a split system or a packaged system. A heat pump can
be used in conjunction with a gas/oil/LP furnace (using the furnace
instead of electric resistance heat when temperatures fall below
about 35° F) with the addition of a fossil fuel kit.

Packaged System - Packaged units provide both heating and cooling from
one unit that is placed outside the home - on the ground, on the roof,
or sometimes mounted through the walls of the building. Packaged units
come in several combinations of fuel sources - gas heat/electric
cooling; heat pump; electric heat/electric cooling; oil heat/electric
cooling.