This app list was rather selfishly inspired as I sat sweating in my apartment last week due to an air conditioning unit that wasn’t quite ready to get back to work. Surely, there must be apps that discuss HVAC equipment, right? Right! Whether you’re an HVAC professional or just someone who wants to learn a thing or two about what keeps your home cool in the summer, here are a few apps worth checking out.
HVAC Fundamental Terminology
If you had to look up HVAC to even understand where this list was going, HVAC Fundamental Terminology ($2.99) should make for a good entry point into the word of heating, ventilation and air conditioning. The app contains 700 different terms familiar to the industry along with flash cards and quiz questions to help you learn even faster. Don’t let those Freon-wielding weirdos get the best of you! Come armed with a whole new vocabulary.
HVAC Operating Cost
If you’re in the market for some new HVAC equipment but want a little help crunching the numbers, HVAC Operating Cost ($0.99) does the math so you don’t have to. The app breaks down the yearly operating cost for the location you live in for both heating and cooling. It then shows off money-saving comparison charts and graphs so you’ll see the differences between a standard system versus a high-efficiency model. For iPhone users who are comfortable around spreadsheets and charts, HVAC Operating Cost will strike a friendly chord.
HVAC Calculator
I watched enough Home Improvement as a kid to know that you should probably not try fixing something involving electricity unless you really know what you’re doing. But those that don’t heed that warning when trying to repair their HVAC systems can use HVAC Calculator ($0.99) for quick access to formulas for sub cooling, Farenheit to Celsius, Electric Heat BTUH, and more. Of course, the app might also be handy for an actual HVAC professional, which you should probably call in the first place when you’re sweating through another hot summer’s day with no A/C.
ecobee Smart Thermostat
With apps to control your cable TV and your iTunes library, the iPhone has become quite the universal remote, and now you can add thermostat control to its list of features with the ecobee Smart Thermostat. The app lets users with ecobee thermostats change the temperature and system settings on their heating and cooling systems right from their iPhone. Absolutely perfect if you decide you want to change the temperature of your home when you’re at work, on vacation or anywhere else. You can even program temperature settings for a temporary vacation time period while you’re gone.
KoolApp
KoolApp might not sound like a serious business given the name, but this pressure-to-temperature refrigerant converter is probably best used by pros who will be able to deduce the correct pressure given the chose of one of the app’s 48 different refrigerants. KoolApp can display temperatures in Celsius and Fahrenheit and pressure as Gauge or Absolute.
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