Having an efficient air conditioner in your home is becoming a necessity. As global temperatures rise each year, you must find a way to keep your home temperature comfortable during the summer. One way to keep your home cool is with an AC air handler.
Tulsa’s AC repair technicians will help resolve your AC air handler issues quickly and efficiently. Quality Heating, Cooling, and Plumbing is a team of dedicated HVAC technicians working to create comfortable homes for our clients. If you need air conditioning service, do not hesitate to call our Tulsa, Oklahoma office.
Below, we will detail everything you need to know about AC air handlers.
What Is an Air Handler?
An AC air handler is a furnace-shaped unit that facilitates the expulsion of cool air throughout your home. Both furnaces and air handlers contain an electric heat strip. However, you need more than an air handler to heat your home.
The many components of an air handler include an evaporator coil, fan, and boilers. Each of these parts is vital to controlling the temperature of your Tulsa home.
A single-speed air handler draws in outside air, conditions it, and then pipes it back into a room via a duct system. HVAC technicians sometimes refer to air handlers as air conditioners, but they are not the same.
Homeowners use air conditioners to cool a space. Alternatively, air handlers are sizable fans that draw in outside air and push it through ducts to different areas of a house or building. You can find air handlers in Tulsa homes, commercial buildings, and factories.
AC air handlers provide spaces with a consistent supply of fresh, conditioned air. Typically, technicians install air handlers in an attic, basement, or closet, and they connect to ductwork that runs throughout your home.
How Does an Air Handler Work?
An air handler pulls outside air into your cooling unit. Then, it filters and treats this air before distributing it back into your home through your ducts.
Another use for air handlers is to provide a space with fresh air when the air outside is particularly dirty or smoggy. If you live in an area with a lot of air pollution, air handlers are essential.
If you want to understand how an air handler works, it is helpful to break down the steps:
- Your thermostat activates your air handler
- The thermostat turns on your air handler’s fan, which begins to draw in outside air
- The filtered air then moves through your HVAC unit
- The clean, fresh air pushes out of your air handler to cool your room
Why Use Air Handlers?
Air handler mini-splits are ideal for providing large spaces with conditioned air because they are highly effective and can distribute air throughout a large home. Unlike central air systems, which draw air from the room itself, air handlers can bring air in from outside and filter it before distributing it back into your home. Therefore, an air handler can consistently provide a space with clean, conditioned air even when there are contaminants in the room itself.
Air handlers are also easy to install, making them popular choices for many home and building owners. Since they do not require ductwork to run between the HVAC unit and the space you want to condition, they need less maintenance than central air systems. This feature makes them ideal for commercial buildings where consistent airflow to multiple rooms is essential.
Types of Air Handlers
Air handlers are among the most common HVAC equipment types used in Tulsa homes and commercial buildings. Often you will find them in sizable homes with multiple rooms and floors, as they provide a consistent flow of air throughout the building.
There are several types of air handlers available. The most common type of air handler is the rooftop air handler. Technicians usually place air handlers on top of your home or commercial property and use rooftop ductwork to distribute air throughout the building.
Alternatively, wall mounting air handlers reside against the wall of the building or house and use wall ductwork to distribute air throughout the building. Ductless air handlers also use wall ductwork to distribute air throughout a building but reside inside a room rather than against the wall.
HVAC technicians install floor-mounted air handlers in a central location such as a room or hallway and use floor ductwork to distribute air throughout your home.
Pros of Air Handlers
Air handlers are effective at providing sizable spaces with conditioned air. They can distribute cool air throughout your home, ensuring that each room in your house is of equal temperature.
They are also much easier to install than central air systems. It takes less time to install air handlers than central air conditioning systems. Homeowners do not encounter as many issues with their air handlers as other cooling systems.
Split system air handlers are also ideal for improving the indoor air quality of your Tulsa home. They provide fresh air to your home by decontaminating the polluted air outside.
Cons of Air Handlers
Although air handlers provide a space with clean air, they are not as efficient at cooling a house as central air systems. They function as sizable fans that draw in outside air and push it through ductwork to different areas of a home or building.
Depending on the type of air handler you choose, they can be expensive. Since air handlers require professional installment, they often come with a higher upfront investment than other HVAC systems.
Install an Indoor and Outdoor AC Air Handler Today
You will receive HVAC services from a reliable company when you hire our technicians. Our team has decades of AC air handler experience and is capable of resolving the most complex air handler problems.
If you want to install an AC air handler in your Tulsa, OK, home, call Quality Heating, Cooling, and Plumbing at 918-212-0122. We offer 24/7 emergency assistance for our clients and can resolve your air handler issues promptly.
