In a typical spit system design, the warm (or hot) air from inside your home is blown across the evaporator coil. The evaporator coil is attached to your furnace (or air handler) and consists of piping filled with cooled refrigerant from the air conditioner or heat pump outside. When the indoor air blows across this piping, its heat energy transfers to the refrigerant inside the coil. This transfer cools and dehumidifies the air, which is then sent back into your home by the furnace (or air handler) via ductwork. The refrigerant is pumped back to the air conditioner's compressor where the cycle repeats.

A central cooling system is usually combined with a heating system because they share the same ductwork for distributing conditioned air throughout the home. However in warmer climates where a furnace is not used, an air handler can be used to pump the cooled air through the ductwork.

Air Conditioner vs. Heat Pump
An air conditioner serves a single purpose: cooling the air inside your home. A

A hybrid system is the same as a typical central air conditioning and heating system except that instead of an air conditioner outside you have a heat pump. The goal of a hybrid system is reduced energy costs during cooler weather. As mentioned above, it can often be more expensive to heat your home with a gas furnace when outside temperatures are 40 degrees and above. With a hybrid heating system, the gas furnace and electric heat pump switch off depending on the temperature which means you are using less energy for the same result!

When space is tight and does not allow for a split system setup, a packaged system can be used. Packaged products combine all the required heating and cooling components into a single packaged system and are typically mounted on the rooftop or located in the yard. The following types of packaged units exist:

• Packaged Air Conditioner
• Packaged Heat Pump
• Packaged Gas Furnace & Air Conditioner
• Packaged Hybrid Dual Fuel System

HVAC equipment undergoes different certification levels. See our Equipment Certification page for links to these organizations.

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