Your furnace and your air conditioning system are two central components of your HVAC system. Your air conditioning system is independent of your furnace, but they both use the same air ducts to transport the conditioned air throughout your home.

The outdoor unit is outside connected via line-set to coil in the furnace — they both utilize the same distribution system (vents, fans, filters, and ducts) to push cool and warm air into your home.

Thermostats measure your home’s ambient temperature and use that information to activate your furnace or air conditioner, depending on the thermostat’s setting.

A heat recovery ventilator (HRV) is a ventilation device that helps make your home healthier, cleaner, and more comfortable by continuously replacing stale indoor air with fresh outdoor air.

They have two ventilation ducts running next to one another passing between the inside and the outside of a house. One carries fresh air in; the other carries moist, stale air out.