Air Handler: What Is It and How Do They Function?
Key points
An air handler unit (AHU), also known as a fan coil, is a key indoor HVAC component responsible for circulating and distributing heated or cooled air through your home’s ductwork. This blog explains what an air handler is, how it works with coils and fans to keep airflow steady, and why it’s often considered the “heart” of your comfort system. You’ll also learn the main benefits of a well-functioning AHU—more consistent comfort, better indoor air quality, and improved energy efficiency—plus when to schedule service if performance seems off.
Your HVAC system comprises a multitude of components that enable it to function properly. It is no surprise that you might be interested in how some of the specific components of your system work. Among the elements that may interest you is the air handler unit (AHU). An examination of this component can help you to better understand its importance within the system as a whole.
What Is the Air Handler Unit?
Without the existence of a fan coil in your HVAC unit, it would be impossible for that unit to do the work that it is designed to do. Carrier defines what it is:
An AHU, also known as a fan coil, is a crucial component of an HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) system. It is responsible for circulating conditioned air throughout your home. The primary function of this unit is to regulate and distribute both heated and cooled air produced by the HVAC system.
This piece of your equipment is typically located indoors and helps connect all the ductwork that runs throughout your home. It also connects to other HVAC components that work together to produce the air conditioning you require.
What Is the Importance of an HVAC Fan Coil?
You now have a definition of what the fan coil unit is, but what makes it so special in the first place? In other words, why is this part critical to your ability to get the most use out of your HVAC unit?
A helpful way to think about it is to relate them to the human body. If your HVAC system were a complete human body, then the fan coil would be the heart of that system. Without it, the system as a whole would be completely unable to accomplish anything. Regardless of whether you are using air conditioning or heating, the air handler unit will be active.
An HVAC fan coil operates continuously, pushing air through the evaporator or heating coils and into the ductwork to distribute it evenly throughout the house, allowing you to experience the desired temperature change.
Benefits of an Effective AHU
Know that an effective fan coil can produce incredible results for yourself and anyone who happens to spend any time at all in your living space. There are several benefits that you can experience from this piece of equipment, including:
- Improved comfort when you use an air handler unit- Enjoy the wonderful feeling of increased comfort when you have an AHU that works at its best. It will constantly circulate air over the evaporator or heating coils to help produce the desired results. Therefore, you can create a more balanced atmosphere within your home whenever you want.
- Air quality improvements – We don’t often spend a lot of time thinking about the air quality within our home, but it is something that ought to be on our minds. It is a significant contributing factor to our health and ability to simply go about life the way that we want to.
- Greater energy efficiency – No one likes to waste money on energy bills. You don’t have to throw away nearly as much of your hard-earned money when you have a fan coil unit that truly works as it is designed to do.
Ensuring Optimal Air Handler Unit Performance for Your Comfort
For these reasons, consider the quality of your HVAC unit’s fan coil and any necessary repairs if it’s not up to standard. For more information and to schedule a repair appointment, contact us to let us know how and when we can arrange something for you.
Check out more on this topic in our next piece, Air Handler Part 2: Air Handler Maintenance and Its Importance.
