Glossary—Cooling Equipment
Central Chiller: A type of cooling equipment that is centrally located and that produces chilled water in order to cool air. The chilled water or cold air is then distributed throughout the building by use of pipes or air ducts, or both. These systems are also commonly known as “chillers,” “centrifugal chillers,” “reciprocating chillers,” or “absorption chillers.” Chillers are generally located in, or just outside, the building they serve. Chillers located at central plants are included under District Chilled Water.
District Chilled Water: Water chilled outside of a building in a central plant and piped into the building as an energy source for cooling. Chilled water may be purchased from a utility or provided by a central physical plant in a separate building that is part of the same multibuilding facility (for example, a hospital complex or university).
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. Heat pumps are vapor-compression refrigeration systems whose indoor/outdoor coils are used reversibly as condensers or evaporators, depending on the need for heating or cooling.
Individual Air Conditioner: A type of cooling equipment installed in either walls or windows (with heat-radiating condensers exposed to the outdoor air). These self-contained units are characterized by a lack of pipes or duct work for distributing the cool air; the units condition only air in the room or areas where they are located.
Packaged Air-Conditioning Unit: A type of heating and/or cooling equipment that is assembled at a factory and installed as a self-contained unit. Packaged units are in contrast to engineer-specified units built up from individual components for use in a given building. Some types of electric packaged units are also called “Direct Expansion,” or DX, units.
Residential-Type 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. There are two basic configurations of residential central systems: (1) a “split system,” where the condensing unit is located outside and the other components are inside, and (2) a packaged-terminal air-conditioning (PTAC) unit that both heats and cools, or only cools. This system contains all four components encased in one unit and is usually found in a “utility closet.” If the residential type is a “PTAC,” it is considered a “Packaged air-conditioning unit.”
Swamp Cooler (Evaporative Cooler): A type of cooling equipment that turns air into moist, cool air by saturating the air with water vapor. It does not cool air by use of a refrigeration unit. This type of equipment is commonly used in warm, dry climates.
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Release date: May 21, 2002
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