Keep your home comfortable with a functional HVAC system.

Getty Images / Johnrob

Almost every home has some HVAC equipment designed to control the temperature and air quality.

Air conditioners, heat pumps, and furnaces are all components of an HVAC system.

hvac air conditioner outside home

Credit:Getty Images / Johnrob

Each works to cool or heat the air, depending on the current temperature inside the home.

Use this guide to answer the question: What is HVAC, and how does it work?

What is HVAC?

HVAC is an acronym forheating, ventilation, and air conditioning.

The air is then blown into the home throughvents and ductwork.

Other HVAC components increase or decrease the ambient humidity and work to improve air quality.

An HVAC system can also have anair purifierto filter bacteria, fungi, viruses, and other debris.

What Does an HVAC Do, and How Does It Work?

The purpose of an HVAC system is relatively easy to understand.

The system heats, cools, and filters the air.

However, it isn’t as easy to grasp precisely what HVAC systems do and how they work.

This process allows homeowners to increase or decrease the temperature inside the home bychanging the thermostat setting.

Boilers work differently from other HVAC components in that they dont heat the home with air.

The heat radiates from the radiators to warm the house.

It is also called a split system because it has one unit inside the home and one outside.

Some HVAC professionals may refer to a furnace and heat pump setup as a hybrid heat pump system.

Mini-Split System

Smaller homes, garages, and workshops may benefit from a mini-split system.

Like larger forced-air or split systems, mini-split systems have an outdoor and indoor unit.

Ducted mini-split systems rely on tubes instead of large ducts to move the air throughout the home.

Since the units are outdoors, packaged systems are much quieter.

Radiant Heating System

Radiant heating systemsdon’t rely on airflow to heat the home.

Instead, radiant heating systems use hot water or steam from a boiler to produce heat.

Someradiant heating systemsuse electric heat cables instead of hot water or steam.