HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) is the technology of indoor and vehicular environmental comfort. HVAC system design is a sub discipline of mechanical engineering, based on the principles of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer. Refrigeration is sometimes added to the field's abbreviation as HVAC&R or HVACR, or ventilating is dropped as in HACR (such as the designation of HACR-rated circuit breakers).
HVAC is important in the design of medium to large hospitals, where safe and healthy building conditions are regulated with respect to temperature and humidity:
The HVAC system involves the following components:
- Ventilation
- Pressure relationship with surrounding spaces
- Air cleanliness level
- Air distribution
- Operating hours
- System reliability