Carrier is a brand of United Technologies Corporation Building & Industrial Systems, based in Farmington, Connecticut. Carrier was founded in 1915 as an independent, American company, manufacturing and distributing heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, as well as commercial refrigeration and food service equipment. About 2012, it was a $12.5 billion company with over 43,000 employees serving customers in 170 countries on six continents. Carrier was acquired by United Technologies in 1979. Willis Carrier is credited with inventing modern air conditioning in 1902. In 1915 Carrier, along with six other engineers, pooled together $32,600 to form the Carrier Engineering Corporation.[5] In 1920 they purchased their first plant in Newark, New Jersey. The corporation bearing his name succeeded in marketing its air conditioner to the residential market in the 1950s, which led to formerly sparsely populated areas such as the American Southwest becoming home to sprawling suburbs.

Carrier is the largest air conditioning producer in the world.[] It has U.S. manufacturing facilities in Indianapolis, Indiana for residential and commercial furnaces and air handlers (closing 2017-2019 and relocating to Monterrey, Mexico), Collierville, Tennessee for residential condensing units and heat pumps, Tyler, Texas for residential package units and commercial condensing and package units, Monterrey, Mexico for evaporator coils, and Charlotte, North Carolina for accessories and chillers. In 1955 Carrier merged with Affiliated Gas Equipment, Inc., which owned the Bryant Heater Co., Day & Night Water Heater Co., and Payne Furnace & Supply Co.[6] A Carrier commercial service van in Montreal, Canada in August 2008. Carrier Corporation was acquired by United Technologies Corporation (UTC) in July 1979.[7] Prior to the acquisition by UTC, Carrier Corporation was known as the Carrier Air Conditioning Company. International Comfort Products (ICP), headquartered in Lewisburg, Tennessee, was acquired by Carrier in 1999.

In the 1990s Carrier stopped using the "Day & Night" brand (which was the "D" in the BDP division, or Bryant-Day & Night-Payne) but it was revived in 2006 by ICP. Carrier also owns Transicold ("reefer" transport refrigeration). In early 2008, Carrier acquired Environmental Market Solutions, Inc. (EMSI), an environmental and green building consulting company based in the United States. The company has received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the US Green Building Council for its factories in Charlotte, NC and Huntington, IN (2009), Shanghai, China (2010), and Monterrey, Mexico (2011). In September 2013, Carrier, Otis, and United Technologies Fire and Security were combined into one subsidiary. In January 2016, Carrier announced employment reductions impacting an unknown number of employees at its research and development division in the town of DeWitt, New York. In February 2016, Carrier announced it would be closing its Indianapolis manufacturing plant and relocating production to Monterrey, Mexico.

HVAC Systems and Services North America president Chris Nelson cited "ongoing cost and pricing pressures" and Carrier's "existing infrastructure and a strong supplier base" in Mexico, saying that the move would allow the company "to operate more cost effectively."[12] When the announcement was read out loud, some workers expressed reactions of anger and disbelief. cost of inside ac unitThe Carrier spokesman reassured the crowd that there would be no immediate impact on jobs. what is cost of new air conditioning unitHe added that the re-location would take place over a three-year period, and no jobs would be impacted until mid-2017, with the entire move to be completed by the end of 2019. window ac outside airHe also stated that the move was strictly a business decision that had no bearing whatsoever on the quality of the work taking place in the Indiana plant.

In fact, U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly noted that he had personally questioned Carrier chief Chris Nelson as to what, if any, regulatory issues had caused the move. Nelson was unable to cite any such regulations. Donnelly speculated that the only discrepancy he could see was the difference in pay scales between Mexican and US-based workers. The head office in Australia is located in Dingley Village, near Melbourne. Willis Carrier moved his facilities from New Jersey to Syracuse, New York in the 1930s. During the late 20th century, when it was acquired by UTC, it was Central New York State's largest manufacturer. Due to increasing labor and union costs in the Central New York area, Carrier has substantially downsized its presence in Syracuse, with manufacturing work being moved to a variety of domestic and international locations. Meanwhile, managerial employees were relocated closer to UTC's Connecticut corporate headquarters which represented a challenge to the local economy. Over the course of 2011 the majority of the manufacturing buildings of the Syracuse campus were demolished at a cost of nearly 14 million dollars.

Despite the loss of manufacturing jobs, the suburban Syracuse Campus, in DeWitt, New York, remained the primary engineering and design center for all Carrier products with over 1,000 employees and contractors on site. Carrier purchased the naming rights to the Carrier Dome, the football and basketball arena at Syracuse University. Despite being named for an air conditioner manufacturer, the Carrier Dome is not air conditioned. Carrier markets the brand names Weathermaster commercial units, Centurion rooftop units, and Aquazone water- and ground-source heat pumps, as well as the Infinity, Performance, and Comfort Series for residential applications.Trane Central Air Conditioner According to experts, a central air conditioner's performance depends at least as much on how well it's installed and maintained as on the equipment itself. "Furnaces and air conditioners don't just snap together and plug in, unfortunately," says Bill Brown, an Ohio HVAC contractor in an article at Angie's List.

"So, we really are the guys at the end of the manufacturing line, it just so happens to be in your backyard, attic or basement." Because every house and every installation is unique, there really is no uniform way to compare how well central air conditioners perform in the home. Even user reviews are of limited help as poor performance could be due to poor installation rather than any fault in the equipment. That said, we did find some solid feedback in the form of expert opinions regarding the technology, reliability, and warranty/customer service of specific brands and lines of central air-conditioners, as well as one large survey that takes into account owner satisfaction with brands as a whole. First things first, however. While there are many brands of central air conditioners, digging deeper reveals that the majority of central air conditioners are made by a handful of companies, marketing merely makes it looks as if you have a wider range of choices. The major manufacturers are:

Among central air conditioners, the Maytag M1200 PSA4BI iQ Drive gets some solid recommendations. This split-system central-air system has two major selling points: efficiency and quietness. With SEER ratings of up to 25.5 and EER ratings of up to 15 (depending on cooling capacity), this model is Energy Star qualified and meets the latest CEE Tier 3 standards. puts it in first place on its list of top 10 central air conditioners for 2016, noting that the company has "pushed the envelope" with "cutting edge" central air systems such as this one. Sound levels are kept in check by a high density compressor blanket, notes and the 12-year warranty is very good. for rounded rather than sharp corners "to make it safer for installation where children play." However, neither Maytag nor other Nortek Global HVAC brands get enough feedback to be included in the large survey of central air-conditioner brands that we spotted. Among brands that are included in that survey, Lennox is fairly well regarded, scoring among the better brands with just 13 percent saying that their units required service.

That's in line with the company's reputation and policies regarding qualified installers. Brown says that the biggest reason why brands like Lennox, Carrier and Trane are considered to be better than others is that those companies are "selective about who they let install their products." The Dave Lennox Signature Collection sits atop the Lennox brand's offerings. , down from first place last year -- still an excellent rating. Benefits start with its efficiency rating of up 26 SEER (depending on unit size) -- that's high enough to cut energy costs by as much 60 percent when replacing an older unit, and high enough to be designated as one of the Most Efficient Energy Star qualified products in 2016. Want to save even more money? The XC25 is SunSource solar-power ready, meaning that in sunny climes and locations, it can directly accept solar panels that can be used to power the air-conditioner, and to supply power to your home when your air-conditioner is off. , where it's the highest rated air conditioner for 2016.

The brand has a good reputation for reliability, as noted above, but at 10 years, its warranty is a little shorter than the Maytag's. According to reviews, the Carrier Infinity 21 24ANB1 is another good choice. It draws good feedback even though it's been eclipsed by other models in terms of absolute efficiency with its 21 SEER rating -- still good enough to be Energy Star qualified, of course, but not high enough to be among the most efficient models for 2016. Like Lennox, this Carrier air conditioner is covered by a 10-year warranty, and like Lennox, it has a good track record for reliability -- again, a below-average 13 percent of Carrier units required service in the one large reliability study we spotted. says this model's two-stage compressor excels at removing humidity from indoor air. Reviewer Grant Morgan loves the durability, noting that "Carrier designed the Infinity Series with protectants to ensure that nothing can get in and destroy it." When it comes to reliability, Trane is another brand with above average feedback from owners and experts.

The Trane XV20i is a modulating central air-conditioner model that runs at low capacity most of the time, increasing in steps as low as one percent as needed to meet demand and to keep temperatures to within a half degree of the thermostat setting. That reduces noise and improves efficiency -- though at 21 SEER you can get central-air systems that are more efficient still. Trane's ComfortLink II communications technology connects the system's components and configures them for best performance, and it allows for remote control of the system via a smartphone app. The warranty is 10 years on everything except the compressor, which is covered for 12 years. Although Amana gets poor ratings for reliability in the customer-satisfaction survey cited above, one particular model gets some recommendations. The Amana ASXC18 is a mid-level model that stands out from the crowd by offering a very good warranty -- lifetime on the compressor, 10 years on the balance of the system. With a maximum efficiency rating of 19 SEER, it falls toward the bottom of the high-efficiency central air systems we recommend, but most configurations reach the threshold needed to be Energy Star qualified.

Features include ComfortNet communications compatibility with optional controllers and thermostats to improve efficiency and ease of use. In the major survey cited above, feedback shows that most brands are about equally reliable. Between 10 and 13 percent of homeowners reported that their air conditioners broke down during a five-year period for most brands. However, three brands -- York, Goodman and Amana and York -- are at the bottom of the list, with 28 to 30 percent needing repairs. , an independent site for user reviews of central air conditioners. Interestingly, however, Amana is actually one of the highest-rated brands on the site. suggest that Goodman's low ratings have less to do with the company's products than with the quality of the contractors who install them. As the editors explain, "Despite the negative reviews around the Goodman name, contractors note that with quality installation this unit should provide consistent performance." That meshes well with some user feedback and with opinions of some experts, such as Angie's List's Brown.