Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. HVAC system design is a subdiscipline of mechanical engineering, based on the principles of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer. "Refrigeration" is sometimes added to the field's abbreviation as HVAC&R or HVACR, or "ventilation" is dropped, as in HACR.
A thermostat is a regulating device component which senses the temperature of a physical system and performs actions so that the system's temperature is maintained near a desired setpoint.
Nucor Corporation is an American company based in Charlotte, North Carolina, that produces steel and related products. It is the largest steel producer in the United States and the largest recycler of scrap in North America. Nucor is the 16th-largest steel producer in the world. Along with Commercial Metals Company, it is one of two primary suppliers of rebar used to reinforce concrete in buildings, bridges, roads, and infrastructure in the U.S.
Johnson Controls International plc is an American, Irish-domiciled multinational conglomerate headquartered in Cork, Ireland, that produces fire, HVAC, and security equipment for buildings. As of mid-2019, it employed 105,000 people in around 2,000 locations across six continents. In 2017 it was listed as 389th in the Fortune Global 500. It became ineligible for the Fortune 500 in subsequent years since it relocated its headquarters outside the U.S.
Johnson Electric (德昌電機控股有限公司) is a provider of motors, actuators, motion subsystems and related electro-mechanical components for automotive, industrial and medical applications. Johnson Electric has manufacturing facilities in 22 countries.
David Lennox was an American inventor and businessman. A furnace manufacturing business he founded in 1895 in Marshalltown, Iowa evolved into what is today known as Lennox International, a global corporation specializing in air conditioning, heating, and commercial refrigeration. Lennox helped to develop what has been described as the first riveted-steel furnace in 1895. His contributions to furnace design have been described as significant steps forward in durability and efficiency from the cast iron furnaces commonly in use near the end of the 19th century.
The Amana Corporation is an American brand of household appliances. It was founded in 1934 by George Foerstner as the Electrical Equipment Co. in Middle Amana, Iowa, to manufacture commercial walk-in coolers. The business was later owned by the Amana Society and became known as Amana Refrigeration, Inc. It is now owned by the Whirlpool Corporation. Today, the Amana brand is marketed as the economy brand of Whirlpool Corporation, slotting below Whirlpool in the lineup. Its closest competitor in the United States is the Hotpoint brand owned by GE Appliances/Haier.
UTC Climate, Controls & Security was a global provider of building technologies offering fire safety, security, building automation, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration systems and services. A wholly owned subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation, UTC Climate, Controls & Security was a $16.7 billion company with 55,000 employees serving customers in more than 180 countries.
Carrier Global Corporation is an American multinational heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), refrigeration, and fire and security equipment corporation based in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Carrier was founded in 1915 as an independent company manufacturing and distributing HVAC systems, and has since expanded to include manufacturing commercial refrigeration and food service equipment, and fire and security technologies.
Pellet fuels are a type of solid fuel made from compressed organic material. Pellets can be made from any one of five general categories of biomass: industrial waste and co-products, food waste, agricultural residues, energy crops, and untreated lumber. Wood pellets are the most common type of pellet fuel and are generally made from compacted sawdust and related industrial wastes from the milling of lumber, manufacture of wood products and furniture, and construction. Other industrial waste sources include empty fruit bunches, palm kernel shells, coconut shells, and tree tops and branches discarded during logging operations. So-called "black pellets" are made of biomass, refined to resemble hard coal and were developed to be used in existing coal-fired power plants. Pellets are categorized by their heating value, moisture and ash content, and dimensions. They can be used as fuels for power generation, commercial or residential heating, and cooking.
Commercial Metals Company (CMC), headquartered in Irving, Texas, is a producer of rebar and related products for the construction industry. Along with Nucor, it is one of two primary suppliers of steel used to reinforce concrete in buildings, bridges, roads, and infrastructure in the U.S. The company also owns Tensar, a producer of foundation systems used for the construction of roadways, public infrastructure, and industrial facilities.
The Manitowoc Company, Inc. is an American manufacturer which produces cranes and previously produced commercial refrigeration and marine equipment. It was founded in 1902 and, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, markets, and supports mobile telescopic cranes, tower cranes, lattice-boom crawler cranes, and boom trucks under the Grove, Manitowoc, National Crane, Potain, Shuttlelift and Manitowoc Crane Care brand names.
International Comfort Products Corporation (ICP) is a company that designs, manufactures and markets central air conditioning (HVAC) systems and gas and oil furnaces for use in homes and commercial buildings. It is a unit of Carrier Global and is headquartered in Lewisburg, Tennessee, United States.
HVAC is a major sub discipline of mechanical engineering. The goal of HVAC design is to balance indoor environmental comfort with other factors such as installation cost, ease of maintenance, and energy efficiency. The discipline of HVAC includes a large number of specialized terms and acronyms, many of which are summarized in this glossary.
SPX Corporation is an American manufacturing company, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company operates within four markets: heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), detection and measurement, power transmission and generation, and engineered solutions. Examples of SPX’s products include cooling towers and boilers, underground pipe and cable locators, power transformers, and heat exchangers. Brands include Waukesha, Dielectric, Genfare, Fahrenheat, Radiodetection, and Pearpoint. SPX operates in 17 countries with a sales presence in 100 countries, and over 6,000 employees worldwide. In 2019, the company earned approximately $1.5 billion in annual revenue.
Trane Technologies plc is an American-Irish domiciled company focused on heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) and refrigeration systems. The company traces its corporate history back more than 150 years and was created after a series of mergers and spin-offs. In 2008, HVAC manufacturer Trane was acquired by Ingersoll Rand, a US industrial tools manufacturer. In 2020, the tools business was spun off as Ingersoll Rand and the remaining company was renamed Trane Technologies.
Rheem Manufacturing Company is a privately held manufacturer who produces residential and commercial water heaters, boilers, heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment. The company also produces and sells products under the Ruud brand name. Rheem is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, and is an independent subsidiary of Paloma Industries.
Sanhua Holding Group Co., Ltd. (三花控股集团有限公司) is a global manufacturer of controls and components for the HVAC & Refrigeration home appliance, automotive air conditioning and thermal management industries.
D.W. (Fritz) Norris, aka David Windsor “Fritz” Norris Jr. was an American newspaper publisher and businessman.
Carel Industries is an Italian multinational company that designs, manufactures, and markets hardware and software for managing air conditioning, refrigeration, humidification, and evaporative cooling systems. Founded in 1973 in Brugine, Padua, Italy, as of 2023 it operates 15 production sites and employs over 2,500 people. In 2018, it was listed on the Milan Stock Exchange in the FTSE Italia STAR and FTSE Italia Small Cap indices.
US$4.981 billion (2023)
