What Is HVAC (heating, Ventilation And Air Conditioning)? - TechTarget

What does HVAC encompass?

An HVAC system maintains a regulated temperature, controls the level of humidity and ensures optimal air quality. As the HVAC acronym indicates, the system includes the following components:

• Heating. An HVAC system includes some type of equipment -- such as furnace, boiler or heat pump -- for generating heat that is used to warm an internal space. The equipment might target a room, zone or entire building. Heating equipment uses different methods to heat a space (conduction, convection or radiation) and uses different types of resources to generate the heat, such as electricity, propane, heating oil or natural gas. Although heating is usually not the primary concern in data center HVAC, it's still an important factor, particularly in cold climates, where heat might be needed to protect outdoor equipment or components such as chillers.
• Ventilation. A comprehensive system of ventilation is essential to effective HVAC. Ventilation is a separate mechanism from heating or air conditioning but works in conjunction with both, maintaining the airflow necessary to effectively heat or cool a building. In addition, it exchanges inside air with outside air to ensure a fresh supply. Ventilation can also play a role in filtering the air or maintaining the proper level of humidity, depending on the heating or cooling system. Proper ventilation is especially important in data centers, where it's used in concert with air conditioning to cool IT infrastructure. Data centers employ a variety of strategies to ventilate and cool their systems, depending on the type of equipment and their layout.
• Air conditioning. An HVAC system includes some type of equipment to cool circulating air. The approach to cooling can vary significantly from one commercial space to the next. For example, air conditioning equipment might be located inside the building or on the outside, such as on the roof. It might also use water to control temperatures, rather than coolant. In addition, it might play a role in filtering the air or controlling humidity, working in conjunction with the ventilation system. Data centers rely heavily on air conditioning to ensure that IT infrastructure can operate properly, using a variety of strategies to cool and ventilate their systems.

Although HVAC components are independent systems, they operate as an integrated whole whose goal is to properly control and maintain the climate of an indoor space. In recent years, commercial HVAC systems have started to become more automated and more intelligent, incorporating advanced technologies such as machine learning, deep learning and predictive analytics.