Heating and Cooling Systems (HVAC) in Illinois

Upgrading to super-efficient HVAC equipment can cut heating and cooling costs by 30%-50%.

When you stop to think about it, there aren't too many times during the year when the outside temperature is just right. That's why we rely on heating and cooling systems to maintain comfortable interior temperatures.

HVAC stands for Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning, but it's often used just to refer to a building's heating and cooling systems.

However you interpret the acronym, there's no doubt about the big chunk that the HVAC system takes out of our annual energy budget. In the average house, nearly half of our energy dollars are spent on heating and cooling.

Some HVAC components (like heat pumps, for example) can provide both heating and cooling. Others (like furnaces) accomplish just one function.

All HVAC components are described in several ways: by function, fuel, efficiency and heating or cooling capacity. You'll find more detailed descriptions about HVAC component function, size, and efficiency when you go to specific heating system pages.

The first step in HVAC savings: Make it tight & insulate right

If a home energy specialist (sometimes called a home energy auditor) comes to evaluate your HVAC system, don't be surprised if he or she also takes time to inspect levels of insulation in your house. There's a good reason for this. Insulation slows the transfer of heat.

In winter months, higher insulation levels mean that less heat will escape from your house, so your heating system will not need to operate as frequently.

In the summer, insulation slows heat movement from outside to inside, putting less demand on your cooling system.

A home energy specialist may recommend upgrading insulation levels in different parts of your house, along with air-sealing improvements that will limit the volume of conditioned air that leaks to the outside. A tighter (air sealed), well-insulated house will require a smaller HVAC system than a leaky, poorly insulated housel. That's why these "building envelope" improvements are just as important to heating and cooling savings as the HVAC system itself.