Clarification on Certified Properly Matched Systems

To qualify for the central air-conditioner or split heat pump tax credit, the indoor and outdoor equipment must be a certified proper match. Here is a simple explanation for homeowners:

Replacing Split Systems to Achieve Tax Credit Level Efficiencies-

When replacing a split system (either air conditioning or heat pump), consumers are sometimes confused as to which components need to be replaced to achieve an efficiency rating high enough to qualify for the Federal Tax Credit. This is because there are really three components that are required to make a 'system'. The outdoor unit (whether it be air conditioner or heat pump) is rated along with the indoor coil (or air handling unit which contains the indoor coil), and the air moving device which may be a furnace or the blower section of an air handling unit. To further complicate matters, an air handling unit may sometimes be called an 'electric furnace' as it is just an air handling unit (blower and indoor coil) with an electric heater for supplemental heating. All of these three components work together to define the efficiency of the air conditioning or heat pump system. While it is easy to see that the outdoor unit must be properly matched with an indoor unit to obtain the desired efficiency, the power consumed by the air moving device (the blower section of the furnace or air handling unit) plays a critical role i n the overall efficiency of the system. Many of the higher rated systems depend on an advanced technology main air circulating fan to achieve these higher efficiency levels. Since most older furnaces or air handling units lack these high efficiency (advanced technology main air circulating fan) blowers, the replacement of the furnace or air handling unit becomes a necessary part of the replacement system in order to achieve targeted efficiency levels for the air conditioning or heat pump system. Properly matched indoor and outdoor equipment systems are certified by manufacturer so products from two different manufacturers will not match.