Adding to its sustainable 2010 light commercial solutions, Carrier Corp. releases its new WeatherMaster® packaged rooftop heat pumps with Puron® refrigerant from 3 to 8.5 tons. With ratings up to 15.8 SEER and 12.8 EER, Carrier WeatherMaster heat pumps deliver the highest EER ratings in the industry in the 3 to 5 ton range. Carrier Corp is a unit of United Technologies Corp.

Exceeding 2010 ENERGY STAR® by up to 16%, the new units reduce operating costs and qualify for many utility rebates. As with all Carrier WeatherMaster rooftops, the heat pumps also maintain a consistent footprint with past models, enabling direct replacement on existing curbs dating back to the late 1980s.

“The innovative features in the new, efficient WeatherMaster heat pumps also improve performance and reliability,” stated Greg Alcorn, vice president of sales and marketing for Carrier Light Commercial Systems. “The coils were designed with TXV metering devices to maintain proper refrigerant levels for an increased operating range. The scroll compressor is protected with a crankcase heater to help reduce refrigerant from migrating and mixing with oil, reducing maintenance and ensuring consistent performance.”

Ted Cherubin, marketing manager, Carrier Light Commercial Systems added, “Throughout the product development process, it was important that we listened and understood the service technicians and installers to ensure we met their needs regarding energy savings, reliability, and ease of maintenance and installation. From their feedback, we took extra steps to enhance the product line, like maintaining a suction line accumulator in each refrigerant circuit. This preventive measure stops the natural tendency of liquid refrigerant from entering the compressor in heat pumps as they switch in and out of defrost, and between heating and cooling modes. While seemingly simple, this unique feature increases reliability of the unit.”

Additional features of the WeatherMaster heat pumps include a redesigned and enlarged control box, easy-grip handles on panels and no-strip screws for quick and easy access to frequently serviced components, user-friendly integrated terminal boards allowing for trouble-free installation of field-installed devices, and the Carrier rooftop (RTU) open controller. A factory option on all heat pumps, the RTU open controller continuously monitors and regulates rooftop operation. For added flexibility, the controller is capable of standalone operation or it can be integrated with any building automation systems utilizing BACnet®, Modbus®, LonWorks® or Johnson Controls® N2 protocols.

This is the second WeatherMaster release this year, with more to come throughout 2010. “We’re proud to be leading the way in sustainable HVAC solutions with some of the highest commercial EERs in the industry. We’re confident that these products will appeal to both contractors and building owners, who are more aware of the need to reduce energy consumption and costs,” said Alcorn.