Commonly Used HVAC Abbreviations

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Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning are the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space.

An abbreviation, simply put, is a shortened form of a word. In writing, abbreviations are useful when you need to squeeze a lot of writing into a small space. You can also use them in place of long or cumbersome phrases to make your sentences easier to read.

Most common types of English abbreviations

• Initialism.
• Acronym.
• Shortening.
• Contraction.

HVAC Abbreviations

HVAC stands for Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning, while HVACR stands for Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration.

A - compressed air line or area

ABC - above ceiling

AC - air chamber, alternating current

A/C - air conditioning

AFF - above finished floor

AFG - above finished grade

AL - aluminum

AMB - ambient

AMP - ampere

ARR - arrangement

ATC - automatic temperature control, at ceiling

ATM - atmosphere

AUTO - automatic

AUX - auxiliary

AVG - average

BBD - boiler blowdown

BF - boiler feed

BHP - boiler horsepower, brake horsepower

BOD - bottom of duct

BOP - bottom of pipe

BOT - bottom

BP - back pressure

B & S - bell-and-spigot

BSMT - basement

BTU - British thermal unit

BV - butterfly valve

An HVAC unit heats, cools, and ventilates your home; and an AC unit only cools your home.

oC - degrees Celsius

C - condensate line

C to C - center to center

CA - compressed air

CAL - calorie

CAP - capacity

CD - condensate drain

CF - chemical feed, cubic foot

CFH - cubic feet per hour

CFM - cubic feet per minute

CI - cast iron

CIRC - circular

CL - center line

CM - centimetre

CM2 - square centimetre

CO - clean out

COL - column

CONC - concrete, concentric

CONN - connect, connection

CONT - continuation

CPVC - chlorinated polyvinyl chloride

CR - condenser return

CRW - chemical resistant waste

CS - condenser supply

CTR - center

CU - cubic

CU FT. - cubic feet

CU IN. - cubic inches

CV - check valve

CW - cold water

CWR - cold water riser

D - drain, deep

DB - dry bulb

DDC - direct digital control

DEG - degree

DELTAT - temperature difference

DET - detail

DIA - diameter

DISC - disconnect

DN - down

DP - dew point temperature

DR - drain

DWG - drawing

A Heat Recovery Ventilator is a system that exchanges the stale indoor air with fresh, outside air. During the heating season, an HRV also captures the heat from the exhausted air and transfers it to the incoming air, preheating it before it enters the home.

EA - exhaust air, each

EAT - entering temperature

EATR – Exhaust Air Transfer Ratio - to identify the amount of exhaust air transferred to inlet air in an energy recovery ventilator

E to C - end to center

EER - energy efficient ratio

EFF - efficiency

EJ - expansion joint

EL - elevation

ELB - elbow

ELEC - electrical

ENT - entering

ERV – Energy Recovery Ventilator

ESP - external static pressure

ET - expansion tank

EVAP - evaporator

EWT - entering water temperature

EXH - exhaust

EXP - expansion

EXST - existing

EXT - external

oF - degrees Fahrenheit

F - Fahrenheit

FC - flexible connector, flexible connection

FCO - floor clean out

FD - floor drain

FDW - feed water

FEC - fire extinguisher cabinet

FF - finish floor

FG - finish grade

FHC - fire hose cabinet

FLA - full load amps

FLR - floor

FM - flow meter

FO - fuel oil

FOV - flush out valve

FPM - feet per minute

FPS - feet per second

FS - flow switch, federal specs

FT - foot, feet

FTG - fitting

FU - fixture unit

FV - flush valve

G - gram, gas line

GA - gauge

GAL - gallons

GALV - galvanized

GL.V - globe valve

GND - ground

GPD - gallons per day

GPH - gallons per hour

GPM - gallons per minute

GPS - gallons per second

GR - grain

GV - gate valve

GWH - gas water heater

H2O - water

HB - hose bibb

HD - head

Hg - mercury

HGT - height

HMD - humidity

HORIZ - horizontal

HP - horsepower

HR - hour

HRV – Heat Recovery Ventilator

HTD - heated

HTR - heater

HW - hot water

HWH - hot water heater

HWR - hot water return, hot water riser

HWS - hot water supply

HWT - hot water tank

HZ - herts

The main purposes of a Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) system are to help maintain good indoor air quality (IAQ) through adequate ventilation with filtration and provide thermal comfort.

ID - inside diameter

IN. - inch

INHg - inches of mercury

INSUL - insulation

INT - international

INTL - internal

IPS - iron pipe size

IV - indirect vent

IW - indirect waste

J - joule

K - kelvin

KG - kilogram

KM - kilometre

KM2 - square kilometre

KPA - kilo pascal

KS - kitchen sink

KW - kilowatt

L - length, liter

LAT - leaving air temperature

LB. - pound

LBF - pound-force

LIQ - liquid

LP - low pressure

LRA - locked rotor amps

LVL - level

LVR - louver

LWT - leaving water temperature

M - meter

M2 - square meter

M TYPE - lightest type of rigid copper pipe

MAN - manual

MAT - mixed air temperature

MAX - maximum

MBH - thousand British thermal units per hour

MFR - manufacturer

MG - milligram

MGD - millions gallons per day

MIN - minimum or minute

ML - milliliter

MM - millimetre

MM3 - cubic millimetre

MPT - male pipe thread

MTD - mounted

MU - make up

NA - not applicable

NC - normally closed

NEG - negative

NIC - not in contact

NO - normally open

NPHP - name plate horsepower

NPS - nominal pipe size

NPSH - net positive suction head

NTS - not to scale

O - oxygen

OA - outside air

OAT - outside temperature

OC - on center

OD - outside diameter

OED - open end duct

OF - overflow

OV - outlet velocity

OZ. - ounce

PA - pascal

PC - plumbing contractor

PCR - pumped condensate return

PD - pressure drop

PF - power factor

PG - pressure gauge

PL - plate

PNEU - pneumatic

PRESS - pressure

PROP - propeller

PRV - pressure reducing valve

PSI - pounds per square inch

PSIA - pound per square inch absolute

PSIG - pound per square inch gauge

PV - plug valve

QTY - quantity

RA - return air

RAD - radius

RAT - return air temperature

RD - roof drain

R/E - return and exhaust

RECOV - recovery

RED - reducer

REF - reference

RH - relative humidity

REQD - required

REV - revision

RL - refrigerant liquid

RLA - Rated Load Amperes

RM - room

RS - refrigerant suction

RTN - return

RV - relief valve

S - switch

SA - shock absorber, supply air

SAT - supply air temperature

SCH - schedule

SDT - saturated discharge temperature

SEC - seconds, secondary

SENS - sensible

SEP - separate

SEQ - sequence

SER - series

SERV - service

SF - service factor

SHT - sheet

SI - international systems of units

SOL - solenoid

SP - static pressure

SPEC - specification

SQ. - square

SQ.FT. - square feet

SS - stainless steel

SSH - static suction head

SST - saturated suction temperature

STD - standard

STH - static total head

STL - steel

SUCT - suction

SPLY - supply

SV - service

SVH - static velocity head

SW - service weight

SWS - service water

TD - temperature difference

TDH - total dynamic head

TEMP - temperature

TH - thermometer

THK - thick

TP - total pressure

TSP - total static pressure

UF - underfloor

UH - unit heater

V - vent, volt, volume

VAC - vacuum

VAV - variable air volume

VB - vacuum breaker

VCI - vacuum cleaning inlet

VCL - vacuum cleaning line

VEL - velocity

VERT - vertical

VIB - vibration

VOL - volume

VSD - variable speed drive

VP - velocity pressure

VTR - vent thru roof

W - watt, width, wide

WB - wet bulb

WCO - wall cleanout

WG - water gauge

WH - water heater

If you are interested to know the HVAC different words or definitions of commonly used terms in the HVAC system, then you can read another article named 

HVAC ENGINEERING DICTIONARY