Definition
An air handler is the indoor cabinet of a split heat pump or air conditioning system that houses the blower motor, the evaporator coil, controls and often the filter rack. It moves conditioned air through the supply ducts and pulls air back through the returns. Electric resistance heat strips inside many air handlers provide auxiliary and emergency heat.
Also called: Fan coil, Indoor unit
Why it matters to you.
Central Kentucky homes that heat with an all-electric heat pump use an air handler instead of a furnace, often in a crawlspace, basement, closet or attic. Its heat strips carry the load during defrost cycles and winter cold snaps, so a weak strip or blower shows up as cool air on the coldest mornings.
Practical guidance.
Homeowners can change the filter, keep the cabinet accessible and watch for water around its base or in the drain pan, especially in humid summer months. Heat strip, blower and electrical work inside the cabinet is for a licensed technician.
About this definition
Written by the Feistritzer Heating & Air Conditioning team — family owned and operated in Danville since 1976, Kentucky HVAC license M02584. Definitions inform; a whole-system diagnosis in your home decides.