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Glossary

Understand the terminology you need to help you choose the right products for your home. Browse our glossary to get clarity on any questions you may have.


AFUE

AFUE stands for Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency.

The Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) is a measure of a gas furnace's efficiency in converting fuel to energy, by projecting the average thermal efficiency for a complete heating season. A higher AFUE rating means greater energy efficiency.

Air Handler

The air handler is an important part of your air conditioning equipment. Its job is to effectively circulate conditioned air throughout your home.

What it is: Your central heating and cooling system consists of two main parts—an outdoor unit and an indoor unit, or air handler. When matched with a heat pump, it circulates both cool and hot air, depending on the season. With properly sized Trane air handlers, your family has the right amount of clean, comfortable air all year round. Plus, Trane air handlers make a significant contribution to the overall efficiency of your system. That’s because the more efficient your air handler is, the less work your outdoor unit has to do to make your home comfortable.
How it works: The Hyperion™ air handler is built unlike anything the market has ever seen. It is constructed more like a refrigerator than a typical air handler, with insulation between the walls of the innovative cabinet. This insulation prevents condensation that may cause damage to the air handler itself or your home. In addition to eliminating “sweating,” the cabinet also eliminates the loose fibers from fiberglass insulation that may enter the airstream with other air handlers. The exclusive double-wall construction provides families with peace of mind and cleaner, safer indoor air.

All-in-one or Packaged System

Packaged systems are all-in-one solutions, with most of the components for heating and/or cooling housed in a single cabinet.

Packaged systems are popular in certain regions, where construction techniques favor a single cabinet system rather than a split system, which has both an outdoor and an indoor unit.

Regions: Southeast, South and Southwest

Typically, packaged units are installed outdoors at ground level, in a crawl space, or they may be installed on the roof for horizontal or down-flow designs. Available in the same configurations, and utilizing the same components as split systems, packaged units also offer a variety of efficiency options. Unlike split systems, in a packaged system, most components are in one cabinet. According to your needs, you can select from the many types of packaged systems available:

PACKAGED AIR CONDITIONER

In parts of the country where the weather tends to be warmer, a packaged air conditioner is the perfect solution. Higher-efficiency units are also available with Comfort-R™ airflow mode, offering better humidity control.

PACKAGED HEAT PUMP

With heating, air conditioning and air-handling functions in one unit, a packaged heat pump can take care of all your home comfort needs. Trane's XL16c high-efficiency packaged heat pump comes equipped with two-stage heating and air conditioning for maximum comfort and efficiency.

PACKAGED DUAL FUEL (EARTHWISE™ HYBRID)

A packaged dual fuel unit has what you might call a split personality. As a heat pump, it cools and dehumidifies your house in the summer. During the spring and fall, the heatpump provides high-efficiency heating. Then, when the temperature dips well below freezing, it can provide gas heat for greater comfort. If you live where natural gas is not available, you can use propane gas as fuel.

PACKAGED GAS ELECTRIC

A packaged gas electric unit offers you electric air conditioning and gas heating. In warm weather, it's an all-electric high-efficiency air conditioner. In cold weather, it provides warmth from natural gas or propane, giving you the best of both energy worlds. Trane's XL16c high efficiency gas electric packaged unit also comes equipped with two stage heating and air conditioning for more efficient energy use.

BTU

BTU stands for British Thermal Unit.

One British Thermal Unit (BTU) represents the amount of heat required to raise or lower the temperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit. The heat extracted from your home by an air conditioner is measured in BTUs.

BTUH

BTUH stands for British Thermal Units per hour.

Some systems are measured in British Thermal Units per Hour (BTUh). The heat extracted from your home by an air conditioner is measured in BTUs, while cooling and heating capacities are referred to in British Thermal Units per hour. For reference, 12,000 BTUh equals one ton of cooling.

Clean Air Delivery Rate

Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) is the number of cubic feet of clean air that an air-filtration system delivers in a minute.

Recognized industry-wide by retailers, manufacturers, the EPA, and more, the CADR of an air filter can tell you just how hard it’s working.

The most common air filter, the 1” throwaway that’s found in 85% of homes, has a CADR of 10. In contrast, the Trane CleanEffects™ has a CADR of 1200. For example, that means the Trane CleanEffects™ is filtering all the air in a 12’ x 10’ x 10’ sized room every minute. The next closest air filter is a whole-house electronic air filter, which has a CADR of 660, producing half as much clean air every minute as the Trane CleanEffects™.

Climatuff Compressor

The Trane Climatuff® compressor was the world's first successful heat pump compressor.

The Trane Climatuff® compressor is the heart of our air conditioning and heat pump systems. It is part of the outdoor unit and pumps refrigerant in order to meet the cooling requirements of the system. To this day, the Climatuff® compressor is the only one Trane uses in its residential systems. It's well known for its superior durability, its low noise levels and high efficiency.

Coil

The evaporator coil works with the indoor unit, functioning with the air conditioner or heat pump to cool and condition indoor air that flows over it by drawing out heat and moisture.

What it is: The coil, also known as an evaporator coil or an indoor coil, is the unsung hero of any home heating or cooling system. Its job, heat transfer, is one of the most important factors in achieving heating and cooling efficiencies that keep your home comfortable all year long.
How it works: An evaporator coil is located indoors and is either installed with your furnace or as part of your air handler. Inside the coil, the refrigerant evaporates as it absorbs heat from the indoor air that passes over it. The coil essentially serves as a “heat exchanger,” working with your heating system in the winter and your cooling system in the summer.

THE DIFFERENCE OF A TRANE COMFORT™ COIL

Each Trane All-Aluminum Comfort™ Coil is designed to provide your family with outstanding comfort all year round.At Trane, we strive to bring you the highest quality and performance through innovative technology and precision engineering. So when you choose the right comfort coil perfectly matched for your Trane system, you can be sure you’ll enjoy the benefits of the best home comfort system money can buy.

Like all of the components in our high-quality home comfort systems, each coil goes through rigorous testing to guarantee the greatest durability and protection against refrigerant leaks. We test each coil with pressurized helium to 325 pounds per square inch. This allows us to detect a leak as small as .10 ounces per year. A small amount, we know, but because any leak will lower your system’s efficiency, any leak is unacceptable. Durability means your home will be comfortable now and for years to come.

KEEPING IT CLEAN

A dirty indoor coil lowers the efficiency and performance of your total system. To keep your system operating at design performance, have your coil cleaned regularly. Indoor coils are often dirty because they’re usually so difficult to access. But Trane Comfort™ coils are designed to slide out on the integrated rail system for easy cleaning. Because the insulation is encased the cabinet can be wiped down, making the job much easier for your dealer, and a clean coil will yield higher performance and cleaner air in your home.

Control

A control does more than just monitor and adjust temperature settings.

Trane products like ComfortLink™ II controls can manage energy use, adjust temperature and humidity levels by room and floor, turn on and off lights, lock and unlock doors and check security cameras. And all of this can be managed remotely via internet-enabled computers, tablets and most smartphones. So, it really is more than just a thermostat. It’s total control at your fingertips.

Dual Fuel

Dual fuel refers to a system having the option of two fuel sources to maximize efficiency.

Dual-fuel systems optimize energy use by selecting the best source of fuel, like Trane EarthWise™ Hybrid systems that combine an electric heat pump with a high-efficiency gas or oil furnace.

EER

EER stands for Energy Efficiency Ratio.

Like SEER, the Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) of a cooling unit is determined by the output cooling divided by the electrical power input. As opposed to SEER which is calculated over a range of outside temperatures, EER is typically determined by a set outside air temperature, a set inside air temperature and a 50% relative humidity. For a comparison point, 11 EER is roughly equivalent to 13 SEER.

Energy Star

ENERGY STAR is a government-backed program helping businesses and individuals reduce energy costs and protect the environment through superior energy efficiency.

ENERGY STAR is a voluntary labeling program developed by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1992 to promote awareness of energy-efficient products. Trane has partnered with the EPA to label our high-efficiency systems with the ENERGY STAR label so homeowners can easily identify those higher-efficiency products that can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save energy.

Heat Pump

A heat pump, as part of a central heating and cooling system, uses the outside air to both heat a home in winter and cool it in summer.

What it is: Technically, a heat pump is a mechanical-compression cycle refrigeration system that can be reversed to either heat or cool a controlled space. Installation for this type of system typically consists of two parts: an indoor unit called an air handler and an outdoor unit similar to a central air conditioner, but referred to as a heat pump. A compressor circulates refrigerant that absorbs and releases heat as it travels between the indoor and outdoor units.
How it works: Think of a heat pump as a heat transporter constantly moving warm air from one place to another, to where its needed or not needed, depending on the season. Even in air that's seems too cold, heat energy is present. When it's cold outside a heat pump extracts this outside heat and transfers it inside. When it’s warm outside, it reverses directions and acts like an air conditioner, removing heat from your home.

One advantage of a heat pump is that it moves heat instead of generating heat, giving you more energy efficiency. Also, it is powered by electricity, so you can save substantially on fuel consumption. For example, a Trane XL20i heat pump is among the HVAC industry’s most efficient, with a rating up to 19.00 SEER and 9.00 HSPF.

Note that heat pumps are best for moderate climates, and a supplemental heating source may be needed for lower temperatures. As a year-round solution for home comfort, Trane heat pumps can become a key part of your matched system. An independent Trane dealer can help you decide if a heat pump system is right for you.

HSPF

HSPF stands for Heating Seasonal Performance Factor.

The Heating Seasonal Performance Factor (HSPF) is used to measure the efficiency of heat pump. The HSPF is a ratio of the heat output to electricity use over an average heating season, and the higher the HSPF the greater the energy efficiency.

Matched System

A Trane matched system is the combination of superior Trane products as every part of your system.

A Trane matched system takes a more holistic view of answering your comfort needs and providing energy savings. By combining superior Trane components that are made to work seamlessly together, you can create a more efficient ideal system for you and your family.

Different houses have different needs. You can choose from many components to create the right matched system for you. Depending on your region, a matched system can be composed of the following: an air conditioner and furnace, a heat pump and furnace, a heat pump and air handler, an air conditioner and air handler, or an all-in-one “packaged” system.

The air conditioner/furnace system is suited to the Northeast, Midwest, Northwest and some South regions. The heat pump/furnace system is a good choice for Southeast, South, Southwest and some California regions. The heat pump/air handler system is ideal for the Southeast region. The air conditioner/air handler system is an option for some South, Southwest and California regions.

Micron

A unit of measure for the smallest of the small, One Micron is 0.001 mm or 0.00004 inch.

A micron is really, really small. The width of a human hair is about 70 microns. Our eyes can see no smaller than 40 microns, and you’ll need a decent microscope to see a particle 20 microns wide. Allergens like dust, smoke and bacteria are particulates that are often .3 microns or less. At that size, they can get deep into your lungs, because they aren’t filtered well by your nose and throat.

If you’re concerned about controlling those airborne particulates, it’s good for you to know that Trane CleanEffects™ removes 99.98% of particulates, all particulates, from the air inside your home.

NATE Certification

Trane supports and encourages professionalism through NATE certification.

NATE stands for North American Technician Excellence and is an independent organization that certifies installation or service technicians with a knowledge-based test. A recent survey says that 87% of air conditioning and heating consumers prefer certified technicians. Organizations that are part of the NATE coalition include the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers.

To become certified installation and/or service technicians, these technicians must pass both core and specialty parts of either an installation or service test with a score of 70 or better. Specialties include heat pump, air conditioning, air distribution, oil heat and gas heat.

The NATE test is not easy, and not all technicians pass it the first time. NATE certification verifies that the technicians who pass are the best in the trade when it comes to knowledge and experience installing or servicing your home heating or cooling system.

Call your dealer for an appointment and ask if their installation and service technicians are NATE-certified. Look for the NATE logo when you need service on your current system or a new comfort system.

Oil Furnace

A furnace is a part of the heating system in which the combustion of fossil fuel and transfer of heat occurs. Furnaces can be fueled by natural gas or oil.

What it is: An oil furnace is the heating component in some systems in colder weather climates, most commonly in the northeastern United States. It converts oil to heat. Another option is a gas furnace that uses natural gas as its fuel instead of oil. The main components to a furnace include burners and heat exchanger, blower and controls. Trane gas and oil furnaces are built to perform again and again, year after year. Beyond performance, we also provide options for energy-efficient operation.
How it works: From a storage tank, oil is pumped into the furnace where it is turned into a mist, sprayed through the blast tube and ignited. The fine droplets mixed with the air allow it to burn very efficiently. The flame heats the air within a heat exchanger, and the combusted gasses exit through a flue or chimney. Air from the house is drawn through the ductwork, past the heat exchanger and back out of the vents in the house. In most modern systems, the air flows through a filter, which removes any impurities.

Ozone

Ozone is a highly reactive gas with three oxygen molecules that affects us in good and bad ways.

High up in the upper atmosphere, ozone protects us from damaging electromagnetic radiation from space. But here on Earth, ozone is an air pollutant that can damage lungs and burn sensitive plants.

Particulates

There’s more in the air than you can easily see—all of them potential triggers for asthma and allergy attacks.

“Particulates” is a label used for particles that are really, really small. Some particulates, like hair and pollen, are visible to the naked eye. But most are only visible through a microscope: mold spores, skin flakes, bacteria, household dust, pet dander, tobacco smoke, cooking smoke.

Why care about something so small? Because anyone with allergies or asthma can tell you, even if you don’t see it, you can still suffer from it. Allergens like dust, smoke and bacteria are particulates that are often .3 microns or less. At that size, they can get deep into your lungs, because they aren’t filtered well by your nose and throat.

Trane CleanEffects™ removes 99.98% of all particulates from the air inside your home.

SEER

SEER stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio.

The Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) measures air conditioning and heat pump cooling efficiency, which is calculated by the cooling output for a typical cooling season divided by the total electric energy input during the same time frame. A higher SEER rating means greater energy efficiency.

Spine Fin Coil

Our all-aluminum outdoor coil that features the patented Spine Fin™ design.

Our exclusive patented Spine Fin™ all-aluminum outdoor coil provides greater heat-exchanging capabilities (meaning higher efficiencies) and is more resistant to corrosion than a traditional copper/aluminum coil.
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