Company: Carrier

Product: FER-Compliant Heating Line

Description: Carrier released a full line of gas furnaces, gas/electric small package products (SPP), and SPP Hybrid Heat® systems that have been redesigned to meet the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Fan Energy Rating (FER), which goes into effect July 3. Its blower motors now reach between 80 to 85 percent electrical efficiency with all FER-compliant furnaces possessing electronically commutated motors (ECMs). As a result, the furnace lineup is now tiered by which type of ECM is in the product. The Comfort™ Series was upgraded from PSC motors to fixed-speeds constant torque ECMs. The Performance™ Series furnaces have variable-speed constant torque ECMs, providing increased motor speed options and advanced dehumidification. The Infinity® Series continues to offer Infinity communicating variable-speed constant-airflow ECMs, providing constant airflow as the external static pressure changes, among many other benefits. In the prior product line, even furnaces with ECMs may not have met the FER requirements, so those units were also reengineered to achieve the required efficiency. Different models have new control boards for new operational characteristics, changes to blower speeds, a new ECM with higher electrical efficiency compared to what was previously available, and Carrier proprietary fan technology for those models furthest from meeting FER.