The Brand Story
Tempstar: One of the Family Names Behind Carrier's ICP
Walk into enough mechanical closets and you start to notice that the names on the equipment come in families. Tempstar is one of them. It is a brand of International Comfort Products, the Tennessee heating and cooling manufacturer that also builds Heil and Comfortmaker equipment, and since 2000 it has been part of the Carrier family.
Chapter 1 · 1999 to today
A brand inside a larger house
In August 1999 United Technologies, then Carrier's parent, agreed to buy International Comfort Products for about $490 million in cash and the assumption of roughly $230 million in debt. At the time ICP was based in Nashville and sold its equipment under a long list of names: Heil, Tempstar, Arcoaire, Comfortmaker, Airquest, KeepRite, Lincoln, Dettson and Clare. Carrier completed the purchase in 2000 and said ICP would keep its brands, its sales organization and its dealer networks.
Today ICP is a Carrier Global subsidiary headquartered in Lewisburg, Tennessee, designing and building gas and oil furnaces, heat pumps, central air conditioners and air handlers. Tempstar and its sister brands all come from that same manufacturer.
The Lineup
What Tempstar builds today
Tempstar is one of the names ICP puts on the equipment it builds: furnaces, heat pumps, central air conditioners and air handlers. HVAC365 currently carries Tempstar front return air handlers, specifically wall-hung upflow units with PSC blower motors on R-454B refrigerant in 1.5 and 2.5 ton sizes. Front return units draw air through a grille on the face of the cabinet, which suits closets and walls in condos and apartments where there is no room for a separate return duct. See all air handlers or the wider range of air conditioner components.
At a Glance
Tempstar by the numbers
- Manufacturer
- International Comfort Products (ICP)
- ICP headquarters
- Lewisburg, Tennessee
- Parent company
- Carrier Global
- Joined Carrier
- 2000
- Sister brands
- Heil, Comfortmaker, Arcoaire, KeepRite
Questions
Frequently asked questions about Tempstar
Who makes Tempstar?
Tempstar is made by International Comfort Products, a Carrier Global subsidiary headquartered in Lewisburg, Tennessee.
Is Tempstar related to Heil and Comfortmaker?
Yes. Tempstar, Heil, Comfortmaker and Arcoaire are all International Comfort Products brands, so they come from the same manufacturer.
When did Carrier acquire Tempstar?
Carrier's then-parent United Technologies agreed in August 1999 to buy International Comfort Products, and Carrier completed the acquisition in 2000.
What is a front return wall-hung air handler?
It is an air handler that mounts in a wall or closet and pulls return air through a grille on the front of the cabinet, avoiding the need for separate return ductwork.
