Technology Descriptions
Residential Space Heating
| Technology |
Definition |
Efficiency Parameter |
| Heat Pump (Air Source) |
An air source heat pump moves, or “pumps”, heat from outside air and uses this heat to provide hot water or household heating. |
Heating Seasonal Performance Factor (HSPF) |
| Central Warm Air Furnace |
A type of space-heating equipment with an enclosed chamber where fuel is burned or electrical resistance is used to heat air directly without steam or hot water. The heated air is then distributed throughout a building via air ducts. |
Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE)
|
| Steam or Hot Water Systems with Radiators |
A heating system for the home that uses a boiler convert water into steam. The steam is passed through radiators throughout the home, providing heat. |
AFUE
|
| Floor or Wall Furnace |
Space-heating equipment consisting of a ductless combustor or resistance unit, having an enclosed chamber where fuel is burned or where electrical-resistance heat is generated to warm the rooms of a building. |
AFUE
|
Heating Stove
Pellet Stove |
A stove that burns compressed wood or biomass pellets to create a source of heat for residential spaces. |
Combustion Efficiency
|
| Geothermal Heat Pump |
A central heating (and/or cooling system) that “pumps” heat from the ground for use as household heating. |
COP
|
| Portable Electric Heater |
An appliance that converts electrical energy through an electrical resistor into heat. |
|
Residential Space Cooling
| Technology |
Definition |
Efficiency Parameter |
| Central Air Conditioner |
A type of cooling equipment in which there are four basic parts: (1) a condensing unit, (2) a cooling coil, (3) ductwork, and (4) a control mechanism, such as a thermostat. |
Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating (SEER)
Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) |
| Window/Wall Air Conditioner |
A room air conditioner transfers heat from the inside of a building to the outside, and delivers cooled and/or dehumidified air to single rooms and smaller areas. |
EER
|
| Heat Pump (Air Source) |
A heat pump used for cooling moves, or “pumps”, heat from the indoor environment and rejects the heat to the outdoor environment. |
SEER
EER |
| Geothermal Heat Pump |
A central heating (and/or cooling system) that “pumps” heat from the ground for use as household heating. |
EER
|
Swamp Cooler
Evaporative Cooler |
A type of cooling equipment that turns air into moist, cool air by spraying cool water into ducts and cooling the air as the spray evaporates. |
|
Residential Water Heating
| Technology |
Definition |
Efficiency Parameter |
| Tank Water Heater |
Water heaters that heat water via electric resistance coil or fossil fuel combustion and retain the water in a tank for later use. |
Energy Factor (EF) |
| Heat Pump Water Heater |
An electric heat pump moves, or “pumps”, heat from the ambient air and uses this heat to assist in providing hot water. |
EF
|
| Tankless Water Heater |
Tankless water heaters heat water as it flows through the device, and do not retain any water internally except for what is in the heat exchanger coil. |
EF |
Commercial Space Cooling
| Technology |
Definition |
Efficiency Parameter |
| Packaged A/C |
A type of heating and/or cooling equipment that is assembled at a factory and installed as a self-contained unit. |
SEER
EER |
| Individual Room A/C |
A room air conditioner transfers heat from the inside of a building to the outside, and delivers cooled and/or dehumidified air to single rooms and smaller areas. |
EER
|
| Heat Pump |
A type of heating and/or cooling equipment that draws heat into a building from outside and, during the cooling season, ejects heat from the building to the outside. |
EER
SEER |
| Central Chiller |
A type of cooling equipment that is centrally located and that produces chilled water in order to cool air. |
EER
kW/ton
COP
|
| District Chilled Water |
Water chilled outside of a building in a central plant and piped into the building as an energy source for cooling. |
|
Commercial Space Heating
| Technology |
Definition |
Efficiency Parameter |
| Furnaces |
A type of space-heating equipment with an enclosed chamber where fuel is burned or electrical resistance is used to heat air directly without steam or hot water. |
AFUE
Thermal Efficiency
Combustion Efficiency |
| Boilers |
A type of space-heating equipment consisting of a vessel or tank where heat produced from the combustion of such fuels as natural gas, fuel oil, or coal is used to generate hot water or steam. |
AFUE
Thermal Efficiency
Combustion Efficiency |
| Packaged Heating Units |
A type of heating equipment that is assembled at a factory and installed as a self-contained unit. |
AFUE
Thermal Efficiency
Combustion Efficiency |
| Geothermal Heat Pump |
A type of heat pump that uses the natural heat storage ability of the earth and/or the groundwater to heat and/or cool a building. |
HSPF
COP
|
| District Steam or Hot Water |
Steam or hot water produced outside of a building in a central plant and piped into the building as an energy source for space heating or another end use. |
|
| Individual Space Heaters |
A type of space heating equipment that is a free-standing or a self-contained unit that generates and delivers heat to a local zone within the building. |
|
Commercial Refrigeration
| Technology |
Definition |
Efficiency Parameter |
| Supermarket Refrigeration |
The complete supermarket refrigeration system including display cases, compressor racks, condensers, and walk-ins. |
|
| Walk-Ins |
A refrigeration or freezer unit (within a building) that is large enough to walk into. |
|
| Reach-Ins |
Upright, self-contained refrigerated cases with solid or glass doors whose purpose is to hold frozen and/or refrigerated food products. |
|
| Refrigerated Vending Machines |
Upright, refrigerated cases whose purpose is to hold cold beverages and/or food products and vend them in exchange for currency or tokens. |
|
| Ice Machines |
Machines used to provide a variety of ice types used in the food service, food preservation, hotel, and healthcare industries. |
|
| Beverage Merchandisers |
Self-contained, upright, refrigerated cabinets that are designed to hold and/or display refrigerated beverage items for purchase without an automatic vending feature. |
|
Lighting
| Technology |
Definition |
Efficiency Parameter |
| Incandescent Lamp |
A lamp that produces light by electrically heating a filament so that it glows. Included in this category are the familiar light bulbs which screw into sockets, Tungsten Halogen, Reflector or R-Lamps, Parabolic Aluminized Reflector (PAR) lamps, and Ellipsoidal Reflector lamps. |
Lumens/Watt |
| Fluorescent Lamp |
A lamp made of a glass tube coated on the inside with fluorescent material. The lamp produces light by passing electricity through mercury vapor, which causes the fluorescent coating to glow or fluoresce. |
Lumens/Watt |
| High-Intensity Discharge (HID) Lamp |
A lamp that produces light by passing electricity through gas, which causes the gas to glow. Includes mercury vapor lamps, metal halide lamps, high-pressure sodium lamps. |
Lumens/Watt |
| Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) |
A fluorescent lamp designed to replace medium, screw-based incandescent lamps found in most lamp sockets. |
Lumens/Watt |
| Solid-State Lighting (SSL) |
Technology uses semi-conducting materials to convert electricity into light. Includes both light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). |
Lumens/Watt |
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