Key HVAC and Building Cooling Concepts: Passive Cooling, Albedo, Refrigerants, and Heat Transfer Methods

Passive cooling

A building design approach that focuses on heat gain control and heat dissipation in a building in order to improve the indoor thermal comfort with low or no energy consumption.

Albedo

The proportion of the incident light or radiation that is reflected by a surface, typically that of a planet or moon.

Refrigerant

A substance or mixture, usually a fluid, used in a heat pump and refrigeration cycle.

Attic

A space or room just below the roof of a building.

Awning

A sheet of canvas or other material stretched on a frame and used to keep the sun or rain off a storefront, window, doorway, or deck.

Convection

The way heat circulates through liquids and gases.

Radiation

When heat moves through the air from warmer objects to cooler ones.

Conduction

The way heat moves through materials, traveling from molecule to molecule.

Air Conditioner

The process of removing heat and moisture from the interior of an occupied space, to improve the comfort of occupants.

Swamp Cooler

A device that cools air through the evaporation of water. Also known as evaporative cooler.

Btu

A traditional unit of heat; it is defined as the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. British Thermal Unit.

HVAC

The system used to provide heating and cooling services to buildings.

Heat Pump

A device that transfers heat from a colder area to a hotter area by using mechanical energy, as in a refrigerator.