Tempstar serial number lookup: age of a furnace, AC or heat pump
The serial number is on the rating plate of the unit. A Tempstar serial starts with a letter for the plant. The two digits after it are the year and the next two are the week.
Decode a Tempstar serial number
How to read a Tempstar serial number
Plant letter, then year and week
The first letter is the plant. The two digits after it are the year and the next two are the week of that year.
Shape: one letter followed by nine digits.
E072514528 reads as week 25 of 2007 (around June).
The sources document this layout on units built up to about 2015. A serial that starts with a digit is not in this layout.
Where to find the serial number
The serial is on the rating plate, under the model number. On a furnace the plate is inside the cabinet. On an outdoor unit it is on the back or side panel near the refrigerant lines.
If the serial number does not decode
- Tempstar equipment is built by International Comfort Products of Lewisburg, Tennessee, a Carrier company. It uses the ICP serial layout, not the Carrier one.
- Some rating plates from this manufacturer print a separate manufacture date, such as “MFG DATE 2/92”. When it is there, read it directly.
- Tempstar serials from the 1980s are all digits and begin with a single year digit. That layout rests on a single reference and is not decoded here.
- The manufacturer can confirm the date from the serial: Tempstar registration, warranty or serial lookup.
What the age tells you
| Equipment | Typical service life |
|---|---|
| Furnace | 15 to 22 years |
| Central air conditioner | 10 to 21 years |
| Heat pump | 15 to 16 years |
About Tempstar
Tempstar is a brand of International Comfort Products, part of Carrier since 1999. The name replaced Whirlpool’s on heating and cooling equipment built by Heil-Quaker. Tempstar, Heil and Comfortmaker units share one serial system.
Brands that share this serial system: Heil, Comfortmaker.
Questions and answers
Which characters in a Tempstar serial number show the date?
The first letter is the plant. The two digits after it are the year and the next two are the week of that year. This applies to units built since the early 1990s.
Who makes Tempstar heating and cooling equipment?
Tempstar equipment is built by International Comfort Products of Lewisburg, Tennessee, a Carrier company. It uses the ICP serial layout, not the Carrier one.
Sources
- CPSC recall 06-011: International Comfort Products gas-electric units built from week 41 of 2000 to week 26 of 2003 (US Consumer Product Safety Commission): https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2005/cpsc-international-comfort-products-llc-announce-recall-to-repair-packaged-gas-electric
- Building Intelligence Center: Heil HVAC age (independent reference): https://www.building-center.org/heil-hvac-age/
- Electrical Forensics (Ray Franco, forensic engineer): air conditioner date codes (independent reference): https://www.electrical-forensics.com/HVAC/AirConditionerDateCodes.html
- Technical Hot and Cold (ICP parts distributor): serial number nomenclature (independent reference): https://icptempstarparts.com/serial-number-nomenclature/
- Building Intelligence Center: Tempstar HVAC age (independent reference): https://www.building-center.org/tempstar-hvac-age/
Formats last checked against these sources on October 5, 2026. Found a serial that does not fit? Send a correction. How formats are verified: method and sources.