Carrier Air Handlers

If you are purchasing an air conditioner for your home, you’ll need an air handler. (Unless you have a gas furnace for home heating). Carrier AC air handlers are used in light commercial and residential applications ranging from 1.5 tons to 5-ton models. Carrier lists air handlers on their website as fan coil units, which is another word for the air handler. They are usually tip-top for information about their products. Much of the information is straight forward about the features they offer and what those features do for the customer.

That is good for the consumer as you do not have to be a Sherlock Holmes to figure some mysterious feature that some remote marketing team came up with to make their product look spiffy. On the downside, Carrier is a premium product, and many of the parts for their products are proprietary. Think of Carrier as a Cadillac and expect Cadillac service from the Carrier HVAC Contractor that services the system for you.

Carrier Air Handler Features

Selected features of various Carrier air handlers include:

Advanced diagnostic boards in select Carrier air handlers

10-year limited parts warranty in select Carrier air handlers

Variable speed fans in select Carrier air handlers

Baked on urethane base coat and polyester topcoat for durability in select Carrier air handlers

Washable filter in select Carrier air handlers

Condensing Units | Carrier Air Conditioners

Carrier condensing units range from 13 SEER up to 21 SEER for Carrier air conditioner condensing units and 13 SEER to 19 SEER for heat pump condensing units. The economical Comfort series offers comfort at an affordable price while the Infinity series offers high-efficiency air conditioner condensers and heat pump condensers. Various features of selected Carrier condensing units include:

Selected Carrier condensing units offer two-stage compressors

Top model is variable capacity

Selected Carrier condensers offer advanced diagnostic features

Condenser units are designed for rugged durability and construction

Carrier condensing units are designed for quiet operation

Selected Carrier condensing units are Energy Star rated

Carrier Condensing Units | Professional opinion

The Carrier brand offers some of the highest range of efficiency levels in the industry for standard Carrier air source heat pump and Carrier air conditioner condensing units. They have solid engineering behind their condensing units that offer great equipment that can be trouble-free over the life of the equipment provided that it is installed properly and maintained properly. One drawback to Carrier, in my opinion, is their parts. Carrier engineers some of the parts in most Carrier brand HVAC equipment and offer added value to the equipment; however, these parts are only available from Carrier. Lastly, that can be very expensive if something goes wrong.

As a professional technician who works in the field and has for many years I’ve seen the pain the consumers get when I show them the bill after repairing a Carrier unit. They end getting angry with me when I keep my rates reasonable and show them the cost of the part. Other manufacturers do the same, so unless you know, then you will pay the price when a problem develops, and you have no choice but to purchase the new part from a Carrier air conditioning Supplier.

A good thing about Carrier is that they have standards for their dealers that require them to have a certain amount of training for their technicians. That is good in the regard that you will someone who is knowledgeable about the equipment and can troubleshoot and repair the equipment efficiently if something goes wrong.

Saving Utilities = Saving Energy = Saving Money | Air Conditioner Reviews - Carrier Consumer Ratings

The higher the SEER rating of the air conditioner, the higher the monthly savings in energy bills. Conversely, the installation costs in the initial purchase will be higher for the home air conditioning system. Additionally, repair costs could be higher because the high SEER air conditioner systems are more complex in operation, design, and components. However, inside the warranty this would only be for labor and not replacement parts for the Carrier air conditioning brand. For the higher SEER ranges/more energy efficient models in the Carrier air conditioning brands, go with the Infinity models.

Air Conditioner Pricing, Efficiency, and Return On Investment Factors

Pricing Versus Efficiency Return On Investment Efficiency Pricing Range for Initial Purchase and Subsequent Repairs outside of Warranty ROI (Return On Investment) 19 SEER Plus $$$$$ 5 to 7 years depending on efficiency* 15 to 18 SEER $$$ 7 to 10 years depending on efficiency* 13 to 14 SEER $ Over 10 years* *Many factors depend on ROI such as house insulation, personal usage preferences, duct work integrity, and other basic efficiency factors. SEER level efficiency is very important to ROI. The higher the SEER, the quicker the return.

Warranties | Air Conditioner Reviews - Carrier Consumer Ratings

Warranties for Carrier brands including air conditioners are competitive and match industry standards for other brands. The key is to know most HVAC industry brands warranties are limited parts warranties and do not include labor. To the consumer, this means if an air conditioning breakdown occurs, you will still have to pay for labor. For that reason, we recommend buying a Carrier extended warranty that includes labor. Furthermore, especially if you purchasing the higher tier models that have more bells and whistles. Higher tier air conditioning systems include the Infinity models for the Carrier brands. Lastly, protecting yourself and your home with the right warranties will save you in the future.

United Technologies - Momma

Among other brands, Carrier is owned by United Technologies which is the same parent corporation of Bryant, Heil, and Tempstar among other brands under the United Technologies umbrella.

For more information on Carrier and their latest models and efficiency ratings visit the Carrier website.

Carrier Air Conditioner Reviews - Consumer Ratings