Glossary of Terms & Therms

Absorber In an absorption cycle, the vessel in which a lithium bromide solution absorbs low-pressure refrigerant water vapor produced in the evaporator.

Absorption Cycle Absorption chillers differ from mechanical vapor compression chillers in that they utilize a thermal or chemical process to produce the refrigeration effect necessary to provide chilled water. There is no mechanical compression of the refrigerant taking place within the machine as occurs within more traditional vapor compression type chillers. Most commercial absorption chillers utilize lithium bromide (a salt) and water as the fluid pair.

Accumeter The metering (flow control) device inside a Carrier centrifugal chiller. Its unique design always feeds the cooler with liquid refrigerant, which has a much greater cooling capability than a gaseous refrigerant.

Accurator A piston type metering device that feeds the proper amount of liquid refrigerant into the evaporator.

AEL Allowable Exposure Limit

AFBMA Anti-Friction Bearing Manufacturers Association

AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency) The annualized average efficiency of a fuel-fired appliance, taking into account the effect of on-off operation. The higher the AFUE the lower the operating costs for the end user.

AGCC American Gas Cooling Center

Air Conditioning The treatment of air temperature, humidity, cleanliness and circulation so as to achieve a controlled, desired result.

ANSI American National Standards Institute

ARI Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute

ARI 550 Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute Standard 550-1992: Standard for Centrifugal and rotary screw water-chilling packages. The purpose of the standard is to establish , for centrifugal chillers and rotary screw water-chilling packages: definitions and nomenclature; a description of what constitutes such a package; published rating conditions; standard requirements for testing and a basis for published ratings; and proper refrigerant designations in systems.

ASHRAE American Society of Heating Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers

ASME Construction Strict design, manufacture, and testing standards set forth by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. It involves independent inspection of every Evergreen chiller built.

Atmospheric Pressure The pressure exerted on all things on the Earth's surface that are a result of the weight of our atmosphere.

Bolt-Together Construction Allows a chiller to be taken apart into modules and brought into buildings through standard doorways.

BTU (British Thermal Unit) The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 pound of water by degree F. A quantity of heat.

BTUH (BTUs per hour) The basic small unit for measuring the rate of heat transfer.

Burner In a direct-fired absorption chiller, the device that is used to combust natural gas or fuel oil to provide the heat necessary to reconcentrate the solution.

CAAG Conditioned Air Association of Georgia. (www.caag.org) A statewide, nonprofit trade association which represents fully licensed, professional heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration contractors who perform installation, maintenance and repair services for residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers.

Capacity The measure of the amount of heat removed by a chiller, measured in tons of refrigeration (English units) or kilowatts of refrigeration (SI Metric units).

Carbon Monoxide Carbon Monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless gas produced by burning any fuel. CO is poisonous and symptoms of CO poisoning are similar to those of the flu: headaches, fatigue, shortness of breath, nausea and dizziness. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recommends a yearly, professional inspection. For more information and safety tips on CO, click here Carbon Monoxide Safety

CCN Carrier Comfort Network. A complete system for the management of HVAC building operations. CCN includes operator interfaces, product controls, system managers, and controls for other HVAC and non-HVAC building components.

Centigrade (Represented as degrees "C") The scale of temperature measurement most commonly used worldwide.

Centrifugal Compressor A type of compressor used in vapor compression refrigeration cycles where a rotating impeller is the device which compresses the refrigerant vapor. The vapor is drawn into the impeller axially, and is discharged radially after energy is added to the vapor within the impeller.

CFM (Cubic Feet per Minute) The unit of measure of the volume rate of airflow, as in a heating system.

Chlorine-Free Refrigerant A refrigerant containing no chlorine. The presence of chlorine in refrigerant compounds contributes to the depletion of ozone in the atmosphere.

Cold Having less heat energy than the object against which it is compared. A relative term for temperature.

Compressor In a vapor compression cycle, the device that increases the pressure and temperature of refrigerant vapor. It continuously draws low pressure refrigerant vapor from the cooler, adds energy to increase the refrigerant pressure and temperature, and discharges the high pressure vapor to the condenser.

Condensation The process by which a gas is changed into a liquid at constant temperature by heat removal.

Condenser A heat exchange coil within a mechanical refrigeration system used to reject heat from the system. The coil where condensation takes place.

Condensing Furnace A high-efficiency, gas forced-air furnace that uses a second condensing heat exchanger to extract the latent heat in the flue gas.

Convection Heat transfer within a fluid by the movement of heated molecules from one place to another.

Cooler A device for absorbing unwanted heat into a refrigeration system. This heat exchanger typically consists of a hollow steel shell with copper tubes running through it. The fluid being chilled (relatively warm water) is pumped through the tubes. Heat is transferred from the chilled fluid to the refrigerant liquid inside the shell, boiling it and changing its state to a vapor.

Cooling Load Heat which flows into a space from outdoors and/or indoors.

COP Coefficient of performance. This is a measure of the energy efficiency of a chiller.

CSA Canadian Standards Association

Damper A bladed device used to vary the volume of air passing through the air outlet, air inlet, or duct.

Dehumidification The condensation of water vapor from air by cooling the air below the dewpoint or the removal of water vapor from air by chemical or physical methods.

Demand Limiting Limits the power draw of the chiller during peak loading conditions.

Design Cooling Load The rate at which heat flows into a space on a design day. The design day usually presents the space with 95% or more of its highest possible load.

Diffuser Part of a centrifugal compressor that transforms the high velocity, low pressure gas exiting the impeller into higher pressure, low velocity gas discharged into the condenser.

Dry Bulb Temperature Temperature measured using a standard thermometer. A measure of the sensible heat of the air or surface being measured.

Dynaglide Transmission Transmission design on the Carrier Evergreen Chillers. It features AGMA class 11 gears, tilting pad thrust bearing, and single piece design, which assures alignment, even after disassembly. Carrier patented design.

Economizer In a chiller with a two-stage centrifugal compressor, the discharge from the first stage impeller and the inlet to the second stage impeller are at a pressure level approximately half way between the cooler pressure and condenser pressure. With this arrangement, an economizer may be used. This is a shell within which refrigerant liquid from the condenser drops down to the interstage pressure, flashing off some of the refrigerant which is drawn directly into the second stage impeller. This reduces the amount of refrigerant which has to be compressed by the first stage impeller, improving the refrigeration cycle efficiency.

Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) The ratio of the rated cooling capacity in BTUs per hour divided by the amount of electrical power used in watts at any given set of conditions.

Evacuation The process of removing air, moisture, and other gases from the inside of a refrigeration system.

Evaporator A heat exchange coil within a mechanical refrigeration system used to absorb heat into the system. The coil where evaporation takes place.

Fahrenheit (Represented as degrees "F") The scale of temperature measurement most commonly used in the United States of America.

FLASC Flash SubCooler. This is a section of some condensers in which the pressure of condensed refrigerant liquid is reduced, which causes some of the liquid to flash into vapor, cooling the remaining liquid. The vapor is then re-condensed at the lower pressure, which improves the energy efficiency of the chiller.

Flue Gas Products of combustion plus excess air plus dilution air (on natural-draft appliances) that pass through the vent.

Forced-air Furnace Any furnace that uses a fan to circulate heated air.

Generator In an absorption cycle, the vessel in which the lithium bromide solution is reconcentrated by boiling off the previously absorbed water.

HCFC-22 Used as a refrigerant in a wide range of refrigeration equipment from room air conditioners to large centrifugal chillers. HCFC-22 has an ozone depletion potential of 0.05 and a global warning index of 0.34. The threshold limit for exposure is 1000 ppm. As HCFC-22 contains 41% chlorine and has an atmospheric life of 15 years, this refrigerant is subject to phaseout in 2030 under the international Montreal Protocol. The U.S. Clean Air Act will prohibit the use of this refrigerant in new equipment in 2010, along with prohibiting new production after 2020.

Heat A form of energy. The least organized form of energy. The form of energy into which other forms deteriorate.

Heat Pump A comfort system in which the refrigeration cycle is reversed by using a four-way valve to supply heating as well as cooling.

Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV) HVAC equipment that saves energy by using a heat exchanger to transfer heat from the building exhaust air to the cold ventilation air entering the building.

Heat Transfer The movement of heat from one place to another, between two substances, or within a substance.

Heating Capacity The rate at which a device can add heat to a substance, expressed in BTUH.

HFC-134a A positive pressure, chlorine-free refrigerant having zero ozone depletion potential. HFC-134a is the refrigerant of choice for automotive and appliance applications, which will assure a plentiful supply at reasonable prices.

Heat Exchangers The parts of a chiller which exchange heat between two physically separated fluids. In a chiller, the heat exchangers are the cooler and the condenser, which exchange heat between the refrigerant and water or brine. Typically the heat exchangers used in chillers are of shell-and-tube design, where the water or brine flows through a number of tubes inside a containment shell, and the refrigerant is either boiled or condensed on the outside of the tubes.

Hermetic Motor A motor which is sealed within the refrigerant atmosphere inside a chiller, and which is therefore isolated from the atmosphere outside the chiller. A hermetic motor is efficiently cooled by liquid refrigerant sprayed directly on the motor windings, and is smaller and lighter than a comparable air-cooled motor. A compressor driven by a hermetic motor has the advantage that the compressor shaft does not have to pass through a seal between the outside atmosphere and the refrigerant atmosphere inside the chiller.

High-Stage Generator In an absorption cycle, the vessel that performs the first stage of reconcentration of the lithium bromide solution by boiling off the water contained in the solution. The hot water vapor boiled off within the high-stage generator is used as the heat source for the low-stage generator.

Hot Gas Bypass A system where some high pressure refrigerant vapor at compressor discharge conditions is returned directly to the cooler pressure, without being condensed. This system is sometimes used to permit a chiller to operate at a lower capacity than would otherwise be possible. The efficiency at the low load suffers because the bypassed gas, which does no useful work, still has to be compressed by the compressor.

Impeller Rotating part of a centrifugal compressor which increases the pressure of refrigerant vapor from the cooler pressure to the condenser pressure.

Induced-draft Furnace A furnace in which a motor-driven fan draws air from the surrounding area or from outdoors to support combustion.

Inlet Guide Vanes Movable blades at the inlet of a centrifugal compressor which are used to control the capacity of the compressor. The guide vanes also provide rotation to the refrigerant vapor entering the compressor, which improves the efficiency of the compressor. Insulator A material which inhibits heat transfer by conduction.

ISO 9000 Standards The International Organization of Standards (ISO) 9000 standards define a Quality System which ensures the quality of a product. ISO 9001 The model for Quality Assurance in Design, Development, Production, Installation and Servicing. ISO registration is just one of the building blocks for achieving world-class products. Currently, 29 Carrier manufacturing and service sites are registered, with 13 soon to follow.

Isolation Valves Valves used for the transfer and isolation of refrigerant charge in the cooler or condenser, allowing refrigerant to be stored inside a chiller during servicing.

Kingsbury-Type Thrust Bearing Self-leveling type of thrust bearing which equalizes bearing loading over the entire circumference of the bearing, and providing an optimum oil film shape. This design reduces bearing wear and provides high reliability and long bearing life.

Latent heat The energy of molecular separation and arrangement. It cannot be measured with a thermometer. Associated with change of state of a substance.

LCD Liquid Crystal Display

Lead/Lag A control system process that automatically starts and stops a lag or second chiller in a two chiller water system.

LID Mounted in the control center, this allows the operator to interface with the PSIO or other CCN devices.

Lift In a vapor compression cycle, the lift on the compressor is the difference between the high side (condenser) conditions and the low side (cooler) conditions, measured as either a temperature or pressure difference.

Limit Switch A protective device used to open or close electrical circuits when temperature or pressure limits are reached.

Low-Stage Generator In an absorption cycle, the vessel that performs the second stage of reconcentration of the lithium bromide solution. The heat source for the low-stage generator is the steam created in the high-stage generator.

Lubrication System System in a chiller, consisting of an oil pump, oil cooler, and associated tubing and oil passages, which provides the oil needed to lubricate the compressor bearings.

Marine Waterbox A type of waterbox in which the nozzles are oriented at right angles to the axis of the heat exchanger shell, and are connected into the sides of the waterboxes, rather than into the covers. This allows the covers to be removed, for inspection or cleaning of the heat exchanger tubes, without disturbing the external pipes.

Metering Device A component of a refrigeration system that controls the flow of high-pressure liquid into the evaporator.

Natural-draft Furnace A furnace in which the natural flow of air from around the furnace provides the air to support combustion. It also depends on the pressure created by the heat in the flue gases to force them out through the vent system.

NIH Nozzle in head.

NPFA National Fire Protection Association

Nozzle-In-Head Waterbox A type of waterbox in which the nozzles enter through one or both of the waterbox covers, with the nozzles oriented parallel to the axis of the heat exchanger shells.

Oil Separator In a chiller utilizing a screw compressor, an oil separator is often used to remove lubricating oil from the refrigerant vapor at the discharge of the compressor, in order to keep the oil from collecting in the heat exchangers.

Open-Drive Motor A motor which is located outside the refrigerant containment of a chiller. An open-drive motor requires that the rotating compressor shaft pass through a seal between the outside atmosphere and the refrigerant atmosphere inside the chiller.

Packaged Unit A self-contained heating and/or air conditioning system.

Passes In a shell-and-tube heat exchanger, the number of passes is the number of times the fluid flowing inside the tubes flows the length of the heat exchanger. For example, a two-pass cooler has the cooled fluid inside the tubes flowing from the inlet end of the cooler to the opposite end, and then back to the inlet end, where the fluid exits the cooler.

Perfect Vacuum The absolute absence of any pressure, even atmospheric (O PSIA or O In. Hg. Abs. or about 30 In. Hg. Vac).

PIC Product Integrated Control. PICs are used in conjunction with the Carrier Comfort Network to control and monitor the operation of Carrier products.

Plenum A sealed chamber at the inlet or outlet of an air handler. The duct attaches to the plenum.

Positive Pressure Design A chiller design using a refrigerant which operates above atmospheric pressure in all parts of the system. These chillers are typically smaller than negative pressure design chillers at similar capacities, and air and water vapor are kept out of the system by the positive pressure difference.

Power Panel Houses all 230 or 115 control voltage components. Pressure Force per unit of area.

PSIO Processor Sensor Input/Output module

Pumpdown Unit System which transfers refrigerant from a chiller to a storage tank, or into an isolated section of a chiller, for service. The pumpdown unit is also capable of evacuating a chiller prior to reintroducing the refrigerant, for minimum contamination of the refrigerant by air or water vapor.

Purge Device A device which removes air and water vapor from the refrigerant inside a chiller. A purge is a necessity in negative pressure designs, but is not necessary in positive pressure designs where air and water vapor are kept out of the system by the internal pressure.

PURON® Also called R410A, Puron is an EPA-approved (www.epa.gov) replacement for R22 refrigerant. Restrictions were imposed on R22 in January, 1996 and a ban on manufacturing equipment using R22 will be effective in January of 2010. Four manufacturers are currently producing Puron: Allied Signal, DuPont, ELF Atochem and ICI. Carrier introduced Puron equipment in 1996 and, to date, over 200,000 Weathermaker® products featuring Puron refrigerant have been installed in the U.S.

Refrigerant A fluid (liquid or gas) that picks up heat by evaporating at a low temperature and pressure. It gives up heat by condensing at a higher temperature and pressure.

Relative Humidity The ratio of the amount of vapor contained in the air to the greatest amount the air could hold at that temperature. Normally expressed as a percentage.

Reversing Valve A valve that changes the direction of refrigerant flow in a heat pump.

Roof Top Unit A heating and/or cooling unit that conditions a structure; it is mounted on the roof after adequate reinforcement has been built into the roof.

Screw Compressor A type of compressor used in vapor compression refrigeration cycles where two intermeshing helical rotors create pockets of continuously decreasing volume, in which the refrigerant vapor is compressed and its pressure is increased from cooler pressure to condenser pressure.

SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio) The total cooling of an air conditioner or heat pump in BTUs during its normal annual usage period for cooling divided by the total electrical energy input in watt-hours during the same period.

Sensible Heat The energy of molecular motion. Measured with a thermometer. Associated with a change in temperature.

Short-cycling A condition in which a compressor or furnace is restarted immediately after it has been turned off.

Single Stage Centrifugal Compressor Type of centrifugal compressor having one impeller.

Slide Valve In screw compressors, this is the capacity control mechanism.

SMM Starter Management Module. This implements PSIO commands for starter functions.

Solenoid Valve In screw compressors, this is the mechanism that controls the movement of the slide valve through signals from the PSIO.

Solid State Starter Provides smooth, stepless acceleration of a chiller's motor from stop to full speed. The "soft start" reduces the mechanical stress on the compressor.

Split System A refrigeration or air conditioning system in which the condenser and evaporator are in separate locations, joined by refrigerant piping.

Storage Tank A steel shell in which the refrigerant charge for a chiller may be temporarily stored while the chiller is serviced.

Subcooler This is a section of some condensers in which the temperature of the condensed refrigerant liquid is reduced. This improves the energy efficiency of the chiller.

Temperature The measure of the intensity of heat that a substance possesses.

Thermidistat Highly sophisticated programmable thermostat that senses the outdoor temperature, indoor air temperature, and indoor relative humidity. A microprocessor communicates with the heating and cooling equipment to determine the most efficient way to achieve perfect comfort. When used with a variable speed blower motor, this cite can reduce humidity even when cooling isn't necessary (as when the indoor temperature is 70 degrees but relative humidity is high, e.g., when it's raining).

Thermostat A device that connects or disconnects a circuit in response to a change in the ambient temperature.

Thrust Bearing A bearing which absorbs the axial forces produced in a centrifugal compressor by the refrigerant pressure differential across the impeller.

Ton The basic large unit for measuring the rate of heat transfer (12,000 BTUH).

Total Cooling Load (Expressed in BTUH or tons) The rate at which total heat enters a space.

Total Heat Sensible plus latent heat.

Turbine A device mounted on a shaft extended from the end of the motor on Carrier 19XRT chillers. High pressure refrigerant liquid from the condenser flows through the turbine, causing it to turn, helping the motor to turn, thus reducing chiller operating energy. Carrier patented design.

Two Stage Centrifugal Compressor Type of centrifugal compressor having two impellers. The first stage impeller raises the pressure of the refrigerant vapor approximately half way from the cooler pressure to the condenser pressure, and the second stage impeller raises the pressure the rest of the way. With a two stage compressor, an interstage economizer may be used to improve the refrigeration cycle efficiency.

UL Underwriters' Laboratories

Vacuum Pump A pump used to remove air and moisture from a refrigeration system at a pressure below atmospheric pressure.

Vapor Barrier A moisture-impervious layer applied to the surfaces enclosing a humid space to prevent moisture travel to a point where it may condense due to lower temperature.

Vapor Compression Cycle A refrigeration cycle consisting of a cooler, a compressor, a condenser, and an expansion device. In the cooler, heat is removed from the fluid being cooled by the boiling of liquid refrigerant into vapor. The compressor continuously draws this low pressure vapor from the cooler, and adds energy to the refrigerant, increasing its pressure and temperature, and discharges the high pressure vapor to the condenser. In the condenser, the cooling fluid removes heat from the refrigerant, which is condensed into liquid. The expansion device, which may be a float valve or an orifice, drops the pressure of the refrigerant liquid back down to cooler pressure.

Ventilation The process of supplying or removing air, by natural or mechanical means, to or from any space. Such air may or may not have been conditioned

Volume Index (volume ratio) - For screw compressors, this is the trapped volume existing at the beginning of the compression process divided by the reduced volume at the point of initial exposure to the discharge port.

Waterbox For a shell and tube heat exchanger which has the water or brine flowing through the tubes, the waterbox is a chamber on each end of the shell into which all of the tubes empty. At the inlet end of the heat exchanger, an inlet nozzle (pipe) connects to the waterbox, and the fluid flows from the nozzle into the waterbox and into the first pass of the tubes; at the outlet end of the heat exchanger, an outlet nozzle connects to the waterbox, and the fluid flows from the last pass of the tubes into the waterbox and into the outlet nozzle.

Wet Bulb A device used to measure relative humidity. Evaporation of moisture lowers the temperature of the wet bulb compared to the dry bulb temperature of the same air sample.

Zoning The practice of providing independent heating and/or cooling to different areas in a structure. Zoning typically utilizes a system controller, zoning dampers controlled by a thermostat in each zone, and a bypass damper to regulate static pressure in the supply duct.