Aa |
Actuator \ac-tu-a-tor\, Zoned Heating:
Controls the opening and closing of individual heating loops to channel heat to the zones as required. |
Air to Water, Heat Pumps:
Term used to describe the process of extracting heat from the air. |
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Bb |
BAR \bar\, Water Heaters, Boilers etc.:
Scientific term used to describe a unit of pressure. |
Boiler Array, Zoned Heating
Term used to describe a bank of (two or more) boilers within a heating system. |
Bottle Shaped Tank, Water Heaters, Boilers etc:
Bottle-shaped tank designed to store water. |
BSP Thread, Domestic Water Manifolds:
Acronym: British Standard Pipe. Particular standard of weave in a thread. (e.g. copper, plastic etc.) |
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Cc |
CAD,SystemLink Services, Methodology:
Acronym: Computer Aided Design. Method used by SystemLink to create schematics, loop drawings etc. |
CC,Heat Pumps:
Acronym: Cooling Capacity. Reverse of the heating capacity. See "heating capacity" under "H". |
Centrifugal Blower \cen-tri-fuge-al blower\, Heat Pumps:
Blower shaped in such a way as to suck or blow air with much more force than regular air fans, commonly found in hoovers. |
Circuit\cir-quit\, Water Heaters, Boilers etc.:
Path guiding an object, or a type of energy from a starting point to an end point. |
Closed System, Solar Systems:
Sealed system in which water never actually leaves the pipes. Because it is closed, water may be pressurised - something that cannot be done with an open system. See "closed system" under "C". |
Collector, Heat Pumps, Solar Panels:
In the context of this website, a device designed to harvest renewable energy. Collectors are usually a component of a larger system such as a heat pump or a solar station. |
Collector Circulation Pump, Heat Pumps:
Pump which pumps the refrigerant\glycol mixture around the collector. |
Collector Trench Cover, Heat Pumps (Geothermal):
Soil covering the vertical or horizontal collector. See "vertical" and "horizontal" collectors under sections "V" and "H". |
Combination Boiler, Water Heaters, Boilers etc.:
A sealed system boiler that incorporates an instantaneous domestic hot water facility that negates the requirement for a storage cylinder. |
Compressor Boiler, Heat Pumps:
Motor that runs the compressor inside the heat pump. |
Continuous Flow Water, Water Heaters, Boilers etc.:
Device capable of heating water without having to store it - term often seen in conjunction with the Infinity Water Heaters from Rinnai. |
Convection Air Heating, Zoned Heating, Hydronic Underfloor Heating, Electric Underfloor Heating etc.:
Method in which hot air is used to heat cold air. (e.g. a fan or radiator) |
COP /C-O-P/, Heat Pumps:
Acronym: Co-efficient of Performance. A mathematical ratio dividing the heat pump's output by its input - the higher this value, the better the relative performance of the heat pump. |
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Dd |
deciBell, Heat Pumps, SystemLink Services, Methodology:
Unit of sound. A deciBel (dB) is one tenth of a bel (B) and was first defined by engineers of the Bell Telephone Company. |
Density,SystemLink Services, Methodology:
Ratio of Mass to Volume |
De-Superheater, Heat Pumps:
An energy saving device in a heat pump that, during the cooling cycle, recycles some of the waste heat from the house to up heat domestic water. |
Domestic Hot Water Heater, Water Heaters, Boilers etc.:
Cylinder used to store sanitary water for use in washing, bathing etc. |
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Ee |
Evacuated Tube, Solar Systems:
Vacuum tube designed to absorb heat from the sun. Differs from photovoltaic technology in terms of the yield - one delivers electricity (photovoltaic), the other heat energy (evacuated tube). |
Expansion Module, Zoned Heating:
Adds additional zones to the control centre in a zoned heating system - allowing users to expand the system. |
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Ff |
Fanned Flue, Water Heaters, Boilers etc.:
A flue with an extraction fan installed, making it more efficient. |
Fire-up,Controllers & Thermostats, Solar Panels, Heat Pumps, Zoned Heating etc.:
Term used to describe a thermostat's ability to turn a device in the heating system on or off (e.g. boiler) |
Flow Pipe,Hydronic Underfloor Heating, Domestic Water Manifolds etc.:
The water pipe which carries the hot water to the areas required. |
Flow Pressure, Water Heaters, Boilers, Domestic Water Manifolds, Hydronic Underfloor Heating etc.:
Pressure causing a fluid to flow. |
Flow Velocity, Heat Pumps:
Speed at which a gas or liquid flows through a system. |
Flue, Water Heaters, Boilers:
A transmission pipe to emit exhaust gases from a gas boiler or gas water heater. |
Frame, Solar Panels:
Used to hold the solar panel up. |
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Gg |
Gas Resistance Unit, Heat Pumps:
1/conductance - term used to describe the ability of a particle to conduct energy. The higher the resistance, the lower the conductivity. |
Geothermal\Gee-o-thermal\Heat Pumps:
Term used to describe the process of extracting heat (thermal) from the the Earth (geo) |
GHPHeat Pumps:
Acronym:Geothermal HeatPump. |
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Hh |
Heat Exchanger, Heat Pumps:
Device that takes heat from one place and moves it somewhere else - thus heating one thing and cooling another. Found in fridges and heat pumps. |
Heat Pipe, Solar Panels:
Device used to transfer heat from the collector (evacuated tube solar panel) to the water system. |
Heat Transfer Fin, Solar Panels:
Part of the manifold that the heat pipe slips into. Water flows through the fin and absorbs the heat from the bulbous end of the heat pipe. |
HP, Heat Pumps:
Acronym:Heating Capacity. The ability of a heat pump to generate heat. |
Hydronic, Solar Panels, Underfloor Heating, Methodology:
Term to describe something that involves water or is water-based. (e.g. hydronic underfloor heating = water-based underfloor heating) |
Hydro-pex, Hydronic Underfloor Heating:
The pipe used in the underfloor heating system |
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Ii |
Inlet Port, Domestic Water Manifolds:
On a manifold, a fluid (usually water) return port. |
Input, Heat Pumps:
The amount of kW electricity that is required by the Heat Pump in order to run your heating system. Also see "output" in "O". |
Isolating Valve, Domestic Water Manifolds:
An isolating valve is capable of shutting down part of the system for maintenance. |
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Kk |
kiloWatt,Heat Pumps, Methodology, SystemLink Service:
A thousand units of power. Combines the words kilo (thousand) and Watt (one unit of power). |
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Ll |
Loop Drawing, Hydronic Underfloor Heating, SystemLink Service, SystemLink Methodology:
A CAD drawing showing the correct layout of the underfloor heating pipes in a building. Also see "CAD" in "C". |
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Mm |
Manifold \man-ih-fold\, Solar Panels, Hydronic Underfloor Heating, Water Heaters, SystemLink Service, Methodology, etc.:
All the pipework in the building is brought back to a central distribution point, which is called the manifold. |
Manual Override, Controllers & Thermostats, Heat Pumps, Water Heaters, Zoned Heating, Boilers etc.:
Enables the home or office owner to override the preconfigured system settings. |
Mixing Kit, Hydronic Underfloor Heating, Zoned Heating:
Controls the temperature of the water delivered to the underfloor pipes. |
Motorised Valves, Zoned Heating, SystemLink Service, Methodology etc.:
Device traditionally used to shut off the flow of water within a heating system. Drawbacks include the fact that these valves are difficult to wire and are not very reliable in practical day-to-day use. |
Multiple Heat Sources, Zoned Heating, Hydronic Underfloor Heating etc.:
Refers to a heating system in which several heat sources are working together - e.g. solar panels & hot water cylinder |
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Nn |
Non-Return Valve, Hydronic Underfloor Heating System, Domestic Water Manifolds, Zoned Heating etc.:
The non-return valve is a one-way valve that allows a liquid to flow through it in one direction but completely prevents its movement in the opposite direction |
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Oo |
Ohm \oam\, Heat Pumps, SystemLink Service, Methodology etc.:
Unit of electrical resistance. |
Open System, Solar Panels:
An open system uses the process of thermo-dynamic expansion to channel water around the house or office. This system was widely used in Ireland with solid fuel heating sources. |
Outlet Port, Domestic Water Manifold:
Flow port. |
Output, Heat Pumps:
The amount of heat (measured in kW energy) that is delivered by the Heat Pump to your heating system. |
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Pp |
Performance Curve, Solar Panels, Methodology:
Term used to describe the amount of heat generated by the solar panel. Performance curves measure this output over a length of time - usually a 24hr period. |
Pex-al, Hydronic Underfloor Heating:
The pipe used in underfloor heating systems. It is a combination of polyethelene and aluminium layers and has excellent ant-corrosion features. The name refers to the brand of pipe. |
Photovoltaic\Pho-to-vol-tae-ic\, Solar Panels:
Refers to a device which converts light energy (usually sunlight) into electricity. Photovoltaic sun panels generate electricity. |
Port, Domestic Water Manifolds, Hydronic Underfloor Heating etc.:
A connection on the manifold |
Pressure Neutralisation, Zoned Heating, Domestic Water Manifold, Methodology, SystemLink Service etc.:
A term used to describe the process of neutralising the polar opposite effects of positive and negative water pressures thus controlling the flow of currents within the heating system. |
Pump for Radiator System, Heat Pumps:
Heat pump designed for use with a radiator system. |
Pump for Underfloor Systems, Heat Pumps:
Heat pump designed for use with an underfloor system. |
Pump Isolation Valves, Zoned Heating, SystemLink Method, Methodology, Hydronic Underfloor Heating etc.:
Valves that ensure that water is fed into the pump correctly. |
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Qq |
Qual-pex, Domestic Water Manifold, Zoned Heating etc.:
Brand of a special layered pipe with excellent insulation properties. |
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Rr |
Radiation Based Heating, Hydronic Underfloor Heating, Electric Underfloor Heating, Methodology:
Method by which heat is distributed from a hot surface. |
Retrofit, Heat Pumps, SystemLink Service, Methodology:
Installing a heating system (or a component of one) after a project has been completed. |
Return Valve, Hydronic Underfloor Heating, Zoned Heating, Domestic Water Manifolds etc.:
The cool water returning to the heat source after passing through the system. |
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Ss |
Set Back Temperature, Hydronic Underfloor Heating, Electric Underfloor Heating, Thermostats & Controllers etc.:
The lowest temperature that you would be willing to let your room drop back to when not in use. |
Shallow Ground Temperature, Heat Pumps:
The temperature of the Earth remains constant a few meters below the Earth's surface. |
Sizing, Methodology, SystemLink Service:
Calculation designed to measure the dimensional requirements of a particular heating system. |
Standard Domestic Hot Water (DHW),Methodology, Domestic Water Manifolds, Water Heaters, Boilers etc.:
Water designated for sanitary use, e.g. washing, bathing etc. |
Static Pressure, Water Heaters, Boilers, Domestic Water Manifolds, Methodology etc.:
Pressure exerted by a fluid at rest. (e.g. tyre, balloon) |
System By-pass, Zoned Heating, Domestic Water Manifolds, Methodology etc.:
Redirects the water from within the manifold as opposed to sending it back out of the manifold and through the heating system. The function of a roundabout in within a complex road network would be an appropriate analogy. Every heating system requires one of these in order to work properly. |
SystemLex, Zoned Heating, SystemLink Service, Controllers & Thermostats etc.:
Pre-configured wiring centre that connect the electrical components of the heating system (e.g. clocks, thermostats and boilers) and enables these to communicate. |
SystemLink,Zoned Heating, SystemLink Service, Controllers & Thermostats etc.:
A device designed by SystemLink.Ltd that can distribute heat from one or more boilers or from multiple types of boilers. |
SystemZone, Zoned Heating, SystemLink Service, Domestic Water Manifolds etc.:
Patented distribution manifold that collects heated or cooled fluid from one or more sources and distributes it to one or more zones. |
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Tt |
ThermoFlex, Electric Underfloor Heating:
Brand electric underfloor products. |
Thermostat, Heat Pumps, Zoned Heating, Controllers & Thermostats etc.:
Device that measures the temperature in a given room\area and relays a message to the heating system to adjust accordingly. |
Tubular Solar Collector, Solar Systems:
Term used to describe Evacuated Tube Solar Panels. |
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Uu |
Unvalved, Domestic Water Manifolds, Hydronic Underfloor Heating, SystemLink Service, Methodology etc.:
Pipe system that does not impose a direction on the fluid flowing through it. |
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Vv |
Valved Manifold, Domestic Water Manifolds, Hydronic Underfloor Heating, SystemLink Service, Methodology etc.:
A manifold capable of modulating the amount of water and the direction that water flows into. |
Vapour Compression Refrigeration Cycle, Heat Pumps:
Term used to describe the processes that normally occur inside a heat pump as it takes heat from one place and moves it somewhere else. |
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Ww |
Watt, Methodology, Heat Pumps:
Unit of power. |
Weather Compensation System, Hydronic Underfloor Heating, Controllers & Thermostats, SystemLink Service etc.:
A device that modulates the performance of the heating system according to outside temperatures. I.e. On warm days the heating system will use less energy because the weather compensation system will tell it that less heat is required whereas on cold days the heating system will work harder in order to compensate for the cold outside. |
Wired Control System, Hydronic Underfloor Heating, Controllers & Thermostats, SystemLink Service etc.:
The control panel into which the heating zones (thermostats) are wired. It routes the signal from the thermostat to the appropriate zone |
Wireless Control System, Hydronic Underfloor Heating, Controllers & Thermostats, Solar Panels etc.:
The control panel which interacts by radio with the thermostats |
Wiring Centre, Zoned Heating, Controllers & Thermostats, Hydronic Underfloor Heating etc.:
Device that enables communications between the various electrical components of the heating system such as the controls (clocks and thermostats), pumps and boilers. |
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Zz |
Zoned Control, SystemLink Service, Methodology, Zoned Heating etc.:
Describes a method of dividing a space into distinct areas which can be controlled independently. |
