Understanding The Basics of VRF and VRV System
Many people mistakenly believe that VRV and VRF are two different HVAC technologies. Actually, VRV and VRF are two different terms for the same HVAC technology. Based on Inverter technology compressors, the first VRV HVAC systems were invented by Daikin during the early 1980’s.
As a technology leader in the HVAC industry, Daikin registered the VRV term (which stands for Variable Refrigerant Volume1) as an official trademark. All other companies use VRF (Variable Refrigerant Flow2) for their similar HVAC systems. Eventually, VRF became the more common term for these types of systems. This is the term that will be used for the rest of this article.
SO WHAT IS VRF HVAC?
Think of VRF as the “Rolls-Royce” of Air Conditioning Systems. It’s a very sophisticated technological air conditioning system, based on several principles:
- Refrigerant only – where refrigerant is the only coolant material in the system (in contrary to the chilled water systems, where refrigerant is used for cooling/heating the water that is circulated throughout the whole system)
- Inverter compressors that allow lowering power consumption with partial cooling/heating loads
- Several air handlers (indoor units) on the same refrigerant loop/circuit
- Ability of modular expansion (especially applicable for large projects, that can grow in stages)