Here is a compilation of acronyms and abbreviations commonly found in, or associated with, the construction trades and industries. Feel free to suggest others in the comment section below:
Common to All
- AFF
-
Above Finished Floor
- BBRS
-
Board of Building Regulations and Standards
Organizations
- ANSI
-
American National Standards Instutute
- ASHRAE
-
American Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers
- IAPMO
-
International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials
- ICC
- IEC
- NFPA
- NIOSH
- OSHA
- UL
Construction
- IBC
-
International Building Code
- AC
-
Alternating Current
- AC
- AFCI
- AHJ
- AL
-
Aluminum
- AWG
-
American Wire Gage
- CU
-
Copper
- DC
-
Direct Current
- EGC
- EMT
-
Electrical Metallic Tubing
- GEC
- GFCI
- GRC
-
Galvanized Rigid Conduit
- HID
-
High Intensity Discharge (Lighting)
- LCD
-
Liquid Crystal Display
- LED
-
Light Emitting Diode
- MC
-
Metal Clad (Cable)
- MCC
- NEC
- PVC
-
Polyvinyl Chloride (pipe)
- RMS
-
Root Mean Square
- RX
- TC
-
Tray Cable
- UL
-
Underwriters Laboratories
- UPS
- ACCU
-
Air Cooled Condensing Unit
- BAC
-
Building Automation and Controls
- BACnet
-
Building Automation and Controls Networks
- BMS
-
Building Management System
- BTU
-
British Thermal Unit
- BTU/H
-
British Thermal Unit per Hour
- CAS
-
Chemical Abstract System
- CSST
-
Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing
- EFV
- HVAC
-
Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning
- HVACR
-
Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning and Refrigeration
- IDLH
- LEL
- LFL
-
Lower Flammable Limit
- LPG
-
Liquified Petroloeum Gas
- PEL
- PEX
-
Cross-Linked Polyethylene
- PP
-
Polypropylene
- PVC
-
Polyvinyl Chloride (pipe)
- TXV
-
Thermostatic Expansion Valve
- UMC
-
Uniform Mechanical Code
- ABS
-
Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene
- GPH
-
Gallons Per Hour
- GPM
-
Gallons Per Minute
- IPC
-
International Plumbing Code
- NSPC
-
National Standard Plumbing Code
- PVC
-
Polyvinyl Chloride (pipe)
- UPC
-
Uniform Plumbing Code