# HVAC: Which does "fan-coil" mean to you?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hvac-which-does-fan-coil-mean-to-you/287976>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 2, 2005, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hvac-which-does-fan-coil-mean-to-you/287976 "2005-02-02T13:33:37Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\
**Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hvac-which-does-fan-coil-mean-to-you/287976/1 "2005-02-02T13:33:37Z")

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When you hear the term “fan-coil unit”, does that really mean “air handler”? Or, as I’ve heard the term, it’s a unitary system - like in a hotel room. Are both correct, or is the former an incorrect application of this term? - Jinx

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**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\
**Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hvac-which-does-fan-coil-mean-to-you/287976/2 "2005-02-02T15:32:14Z")

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I suppose that technically a fan coil unit is a type of air handler, but no one in the industry is going to confuse the two. A fan coil unit serves small areas, perhaps a room or two, and air handler serves a larger area. In additon, an air handler usually have an option for a mixing box, economizer and exhaust or return fan, things that a fan coil lacks.

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**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hvac-which-does-fan-coil-mean-to-you/287976/3 "2005-02-08T21:19:51Z")

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Dag Otto, on a residential split system, even…the indoor unit is still an air handler, isn’t it? I don’t believe it is correct to call this a fan-coil. I ask because a field report I was reading was calling out “fan-coil” units…which gave me the wrong impression. I believe they more correctly mean air handlers.

Thanks for helping me clear that up…

- Jinx