International Comfort Products Corporation (ICP) is a company that designs, manufactures and markets central air conditioning (HVAC) systems, gas and oil furnaces for use in homes and commercial buildings headquartered in Lewisburg, Tennessee, United States. ICP is a United Technologies subsidiary (and part of its Carrier operating unit). ICP makes oil and gas furnaces, heat pumps, and central air-conditioning systems for residential and commercial customers.[1] It manufacturers, markets, and sells residential heating and cooling systems under the Arcoaire, Comfortmaker, Day & Night, Heil, KeepRite, Lincoln, and Tempstar brands; its commercial units, with up to 25 tons of cooling capacity, are sold under the ICP Commercial brand. ICP's Tempstar has international sales with support in Shanghai, China, Canoas, Brazil, Bucharest, Romania and Wiener Neudorf, Austria. ICP produces more than a million units a year at various manufacturing complexes in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Oil furnaces are also produced at the Canadian plant in Sherbrooke, Quebec. ICP has been growing through the years by developing diversified brands and acquiring competitor brands. types of hvac systems vavIts goal was to establish its presence in all available market niches.types of hvac systems vav International Comfort Products Corporation brands trace their roots back many years. thermo king air conditioning unitsArcoaire were made by ARCO (Atlantic Richfield Company.) Both Comfortmaker and Arcoaire were parts of the SnyderGeneral Corporation (which was based in Dallas, Texas but had its residential and light commercial operations in Red Bud, Illinois and Hutchins, Texas) until in 1991 they sold their Residential Operations to Inter-City Products.

Before SnyderGeneral, Comfortmaker was a brand of American Furnace Company that originated in the 1950s, which was bought out by Singer's Climate Control division, which was spun off by Richard Snyder to create SnyderGeneral. Arcoaire was a brand name of the ARCO. The KeepRite brand has been a major brand in Canada for 50 years. High efficiency oil furnaces, produced exclusively at the Quebec plant, carry the Lincoln name. Day & Night began as a solar water heater company in 1909 in Monrovia, California, providing Californians with round-the-clock hot water. It ventured into space heating in 1930s. After extinguishing the name in 1997, the Day & Night brand name was resurrected in Western US and Canada in 2009. Heil was established in 1962; the Tempstar brand was introduced in the 1980s in response to increased market demands for a full line of heating and cooling products. International Comfort Products has the largest North American distribution system in the industry. Independent wholesalers sell residential and light commercial products to installers in the replacement and renovation sectors and to contractors in new construction.

ICP became a wholly owned subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation in 1999. Before this event happened, ICP was known as Inter-City Products. In October 2002, ICP became an exclusive original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of Kenmore brand residential, central heating and cooling equipment for Sears, Roebuck and Company.Keep your air-conditioner (AC) maintained and you’ll not only save money on energy, but you’ll also extend its lifespan, saving money on costly early replacement. Dave Moody, HVAC pro from Service Experts, says, “An AC needs regular attention to be sure it’s operating at the highest efficiency.” The best time to use these tips is just before each cooling season begins. Your Heating, Ventilating, and Air-Conditioning system (HVAC) will consist of either a furnace and AC or a heat pump, which both heats and cools. Both types will have an interior unit (evaporator and blower) and an exterior unit (condenser coil and compressor). These instructions apply to a whole-home air-conditioning or heat pump unit.

Due to the dangers of working around electricity and the air-conditioner’s moving parts, it’s essential to completely turn off power to the unit. On the exterior condenser/compressor, look for an exterior shut-off box near the unit. Indoors, also turn the power off at the breaker box. On the exterior condenser/compressor, remove the fan cage. Using a screwdriver or wrench, remove the fasteners and lift the cage or fan grill away from the top of the unit. By hand, or with a wet/dry vacuum, clean leaves and other debris from the interior. With a strong stream from a garden hose, spray through the fins from the inside out to blast any built up dirt or debris from between them. Never use a pressure washer, since the pressure can damage the fins. If the fins are particularly dirty, use a commercially available fin cleaning spray (available at home improvement centers; read and follow manufacturer directions). Since any reduction in air-flow through the fins can reduce efficiency, carefully straighten bent fins using a butter knife or commercially available fin-straightening tool.

Be gentle so that the tubing embedded within the fins is not damaged. Once finished with the cleaning, replace the fan cage. Rake back leaves and debris outside the condenser and cut back branches and vegetation at least 2 feet in all directions to ensure proper airflow around the unit. During winter months when the condenser is not in use, it’s good to cover the top of the unit with a piece of plywood or plastic to keep debris from falling in. However, don’t completely cover the unit’s sides, since moisture can build up inside and cause corrosion. Also, a completely covered unit encourages vermin to build nests inside. Remove any cover when the unit is operating. Over time, the pad upon which the condenser unit sits can begin to tip as the soil settles beneath it. An out-of-level condenser unit can cause the compressor within to fail early. Check the condenser for level and use rot-resistant shims to bring it back to level. Service Experts’ Moody adds this exception: “If you have a heat pump system, it’s okay for the pad to be slightly sloped away from the home’s foundation to allow for defrost run-off during the winter.”

Now it’s time to move inside. On the inside blower/furnace unit, find the evaporator coil door. You may need to remove some foil duct tape and take out a few screws or bolts. Inside, use a soft brush to dust off the coil, then spray the coil with commercially available no-rinse coil cleaner (available at home improvement stores). The spray will foam up and then drip into the drain pan. Clean out the drain pan with soap, hot water, and a little bleach. Then, pour a cup of 50% bleach/50% water down the drain. To keep the drain clear longer-term, place a commercially available drain pan tablet in the pan. This will inhibit future algae growth. If the bleach solution drains easily, skip the next step. If not, move on to next step. Replace the evaporator coil door and use foil duct tape to re-seal, if necessary. On the interior, warm, humid air from your home’s interior is blown through the evaporator coil. The cold coil absorbs heat from the air, cooling it, before the air is circulated back into your home.

The humidity in the air condenses on the cool surface of the evaporator coil as liquid water, dripping into a pan below. From the pan, the water flows into a drain tube which is typically routed into a basement floor drain, utility sink, or outdoors. Over time, algae and mold can build up and potentially plug the drain, so if the drain is either not flowing or flowing very slowly, it will need to be unplugged. A plugged drain can either cause damage by flooding onto the floor or, if the system is equipped with a drain float, cause the system to stop cooling in order to avoid flooding. First, find the drain line where it leaves the evaporator coil enclosure. The drain is usually a one-inch PVC pipe (white, grey, or black). Follow it to the end where it drains. Often the line drains outside near the condenser unit, but it can also drain into a utility sink or basement floor drain or, in the case of attic units, down an outside wall. Once located, use a wet/dry vacuum to clear the drain.

It’s best to remove the paper filter from the wet/dry vacuum so as not to ruin the filter. Hold the hose of the wet/dry vacuum to the end of the drain line. You can use duct tape or simply hold a rag around the gap. Turn on the vacuum for 2-3 minutes then turn off. This will clear the drain of any growing biological matter. The filter in your HVAC system should be changed at least twice a year – once just before the heating season begins and once before the cooling season begins. If you live in a particularly dusty area, you may want to change it more often. Always replace the filter with a new filter that has the same airflow rating. Again, Moody cautions, “Be careful with ‘air purifying’ or HEPA filters,” he says, “because they can dramatically reduce airflow in your system. That can cause the indoor coil to freeze because of the reduced airflow.” Locate the filter enclosure on the indoor furnace/AC where the large fresh air return duct enters the unit. You may need a screwdriver to turn the latch to open the door to the filter enclosure.