What’s the Difference Between an Air Conditioner and Air Handler?
Whether it’s AC repair or total AC system replacement, there are a variety of terms within the HVAC industry that can get puzzling for homeowners. Not to mention all of the different pieces of heating and air conditioning equipment that can be used to increase your home’s energy efficiency and air quality. Of course we can’t talk about all of the variations in a single blog post, so we’ll take a look at one of the routine inquiries we see at Rob's Albertan Service Experts: what’s the difference between an air conditioner and an air handler?
What is an Air Handler?
An air handler contains the equipment that moves the air throughout your home, called the blower. It is typically situated inside the home and operates with both the heating and cooling components of your HVAC system. If you take a quick glance at an air handler, it can closely resemble a furnace. Air handlers can run with an air conditioner and holds the indoor coil, used to cool and heat your home depending on which system it’s operating with.
Air handler vs Heat Pump
Similar to how an air handler works with an AC system, an air handler works together with your heat pump. Heat pumps are used to control your comfort by transferring heat, rather than producing it, and the air handler assists in moving all that heated or cooled air.
Air handler vs blower
Air handlers are not blowers. This confuses some folks, but it’s not too complex and we’re happy to explain the difference. An air handler has the blower, and several other pieces in the unit. You may have dampers, filters, mixing chambers and more in an air handler. The blower is just one piece of the pie.
Here’s what you ought to know about air handlers: if you’re looking for a conventional furnace or air conditioner, you’ll probably never need to know what an air handler is because it’s feasible that you won’t need one. However, if you’re in the market for an electric heat pump, it’s helpful to know that an air handler will most likely be a part of your home’s HVAC system.
Air Handler vs. Furnace
Air handlers and furnaces don’t normally pair together. If you have a furnace you probably don’t need to worry about an air handler. Air handlers tend to be used with heat pumps and help regulate air flow throughout the building. Some air handlers also provide extra heating and cooling parts to help out the heat pump. A furnace works differently. Instead of an air handler, furnaces have their own blowers that move the heated air into your ventilation and disperse into your home. Since furnaces have combustion chambers and create heat, they don’t need some of the parts you’ll find in a new air handler.
Air Conditioners
Air conditioners contain the condenser and are usually situated outside the home. One of the most common misunderstandings about air conditioners is that they cool the existing air in your home. Air conditioners actually remove heat from inside your home through a host of parts in your system and expel it outside. The removal of heat is what makes the air feel cool, not the addition of cold air.
The warm air inside your home is brought into the system through return ducts and then passes across a refrigerant coil. As the warm air is blown across the cooled coil, heat is removed. Refrigerant lines then carry the heat outside. Now you’re left with cool, comfortable indoor air that you can enjoy on the hottest of days. And that’s pretty much it. Sure, the equipment is more complex than that, but the process itself is easy to break down and comprehend.
Understanding all of your home’s heating and cooling pieces for the Edmonton climate is probably a little unrealistic, but there are a few things that can be helpful to you as a homeowner. If you’d like more information about your current system and whether an air handler or air conditioner is right for your home, give the pros at Rob's Albertan Service Experts a call at 780-800-9047 or set up a free appointment online today.
