HVAC is one of those acronyms that we see a lot. We hear it thrown around. It's like ASVAB, GIF, or CAPTCHA. It's not totally foreign, but we probably don't pay too much attention to it. After all, air conditioning and heating is not the most glamorous or fascinating subject for the average person. Does anybody really need to know what HVAC stands for? Most people? Not really, but, just for the sake of argument, what does HVAC stand for? HVAC stands for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. It's the trifecta of total home air comfort. You need each one to have full comfort all year long. If one area falls short, you'll be miserable. In a worst case scenario, your life might actually be in danger. Let's do our best to avoid those kinds of situations!

Breaking Down HVAC

Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is everything you need in a typical American home to keep your family comfortable and safe. You'll also protect your possessions and the value of your home. How so? We can explain.

Heating

Heating is a requirement for living. You probably know that, of course, but it's easy to overlook. Artificial heating has been part of our modern civilization for so long that most people don't even think about the cold as something dangerous. It's an inconvenience. It's an annoyance. It's deadly. While it is true that folks in the very warmest parts of the United States could go without home heating, the vast majority of us would be in trouble without our HVAC systems. Whether it's a natural gas furnace, an energy efficient heat pump, or a portable electric heater, we all need some means by which to keep our homes warm when the temperature drops too low for comfort or safety. Fortunately, the heating in HVAC is much easier to come by than it was even 100 years ago. In the early part of the 20th century, many American households still chopped their own wood to fuel the stove that kept their homes warm. Did this work? Yes, but it was almost as dangerous as the cold. Home fires used to be much more common. Some of that was construction, but a lot of it was the necessity of having an open flame in order to stay healthy in cold temperatures. What does HVAC stand for? In this case, it stands for being safe in winter.

Ventilation

Ventilation is probably the least appreciated of the terms that make up HVAC. Everybody knows what it means, of course. Ventilation means that you let fresh air in, and let the old air out. You get rid of bad smells and dust. Fresh air is better air. Which is basically true. Musty, stale air is no good for anyone. And yet so few of us consider ventilation a priority when it comes to home health and safety. Consider all the things that might be found in your home's air supply:

• Mold
• Bacteria
• Viruses
• Germans
• Pet Dander
• Spores
• Dust

None of those are good things. Nobody wants to breathe those into their lungs. So why do we neglect proper ventilation and good indoor air quality? I think it's an out-of-sight, out-of-mind problem. Air is invisible, and so are most of the bad things floating around in it. We can feel high or low temperatures, and they make us uncomfortable. Proper ventilation isn't generally something we notice, unless it's a really serious problem. We would encourage you not to allow your home air to get to that state. Even if you don't want to invest in equipment to change out or automatically clean your air, there is one thing you can do on a regular basis to improve it: change your air filters. You home HVAC system air filters remove lots of, well, crap from your air. That is, they do when you keep those air filters clean or changed out regularly. So do that. It's simple. It only take fives minutes, and it will really help your interior air. Plus, it will improve the life of your home HVAC system, so that's a bonus. What does HVAC stand for? Clean air and breathing easy.

Air Conditioning

Air conditioning means cool air. While it didn't exist a hundred years ago, since the end of World War 2 air conditioning has become a basic requirement for American households. It drove an exodus into the American Southwest, and makes life in the Deep South tolerable. However, aside from the pure comfort that is provided by modern HVAC, there is one other very important thing that air conditioning does: dehumidify. Humidity destroys things. There are ancient ruins still standing in deserts. They don't find those in swamps, because swamps eat stuff. Excess humidity in your home can destroy furniture, clothes, books, and more. Now, we're not saying you should make your house a desert. A lack of humidity is as bad for your comfort as too much. What you want is Goldilocks humidity. Not too much, not too little. You want humidity that is just right. A modern air conditioning system gives you some means by which to manipulate your home humidity. Even if you don't have a dedicated humidifier or dehumidifier, a basic window air conditioner will remove excess humidity from your interior air. In fact, the mechanism behind modern air conditioning was invented as a means by which to dehumidify warehouses where paper was stored. In short, humidity is an unappreciated aspect of air conditioning, but let's not overlook basic cooling. Being hot sucks. Nobody likes it except weirdos. Air conditioning is amazing. You can abandon a miserable August day to cool, relaxing comfort inside your home. Heck, air conditioning means living in Phoenix isn't the worst thing imaginable. Can you comprehend living in a place like that without air conditioning? You shouldn't. It's terrible! What does HVAC stand for? Cool summers and reasonable humidity.

So, What Does HVAC Stand For?

Hopefully, now you know. But if you've still got questions about HVAC in general or some aspect of home air comfort in particular, we'd be happy to help. You can call us at 270-575-9595 or reach out online from here. As always, thank you for visiting Ingram's Water & Air Equipment. And, hey, if you need a new HVAC system, we do that too.