In warm weather, an air conditioning system removes heat from the air and circulates chilled air throughout your home. In cooler months, a furnace or heat pump creates warm air to be distributed. Most central air and heating systems have the same basic components:

Evaporator: The evaporator contains cooling coils that use refrigerant to remove heat and humidity from the air.

Blower: The blower is essentially a fan. The blower’s job is to circulate air over the evaporator and then send the chilled air into the HVAC ducts.

Condenser: The condenser contains another set of coils that collect heat and release it outside the home.

Compressor: The compressor is the heart of the AC system, containing a pump that moves the refrigerant between the evaporator and the condenser.

Fan: A separate fan blows air across the condenser coils to push heat outside.

Filter: A filter inside the AC unit removes particles from the air.

Thermostat: The thermostat is the HVAC unit’s control system. It regulates the interior temperature by adjusting the amount of cool air distributed in the summer and warm air in the winter.

Heat Pump: In Middle Tennessee’s climate, the heat pump is a common component of HVAC systems. Heat pumps move heat from a cool area to a warm one, which makes the warm space warmer in the winter and the cool space cooler in the summer. They work year-round.

Furnace: Furnaces create warm air using natural gas, electricity, propane, oil, geothermal energy or solar power.

SEER: Your Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio is a rating for the efficiency of your HVAC system.