- By Myles Kleeman
- Tags: Air Conditioner, Condenser, Forced Air, Napoleon, NT13, NT16
- March 18, 2021
Napoleon Condensers – Cooler Than Ever
We always relish the opportunity to tell you about a major update that completely revamps a product line, but every update is not major. That doesn’t mean that the smaller changes aren’t worth celebrating, though! Today, we’re going to get into a minor update from a major manufacturer and why it’s important.
Charcool Grey Cabinets
Depending on what sizes and SEERs you typically purchase, you may have already seen the new Napoleon condenser cabinets. They have been rolling them out across the NT13 and NT16 lines going back several months, but now they have completely replaced the original taupe models.
This update is purely aesthetic, the new condensers are functionally identical to the original models. At first glance, this may seem like an underwhelming upgrade but that’s not seeing the big picture. While this update may not change the way the condensers work, it does signify something significant: commitment.
It’s no secret that furnaces are the focus at Napoleon. For a company based in Canada and with a background in gas-fired equipment, it makes sense that their heating division would have a pretty big head start on the cooling. What the Charcool models say is that Napoleon is not only committed to the continued development and improvement of their condensers, but they also care about them holistically. In this case, even though they didn’t have any changes to make with the unit’s internals, they still pressed forward with this upgrade because they felt it provides better value to the contractors and homeowners who work and live with their products.
Napoleon could have held off on updating the cabinets until they had a mechanical or technological upgrade to roll out at the same time, but instead of waiting they said “this a better product, it looks better and people will like it more for that” and proceeded with the update.
While you probably won’t have homeowners breaking down your doors for a chance at a Charcool condenser, you probably will find that the design is both more striking and unobtrusive. It’s a cleaner appearance and it also blends into residential surroundings more easily.
It would have been easy for Napoleon to stay the course. Instead, they created additional value for their customers. Even if you don’t find this update as exciting as we do, you have to admit that Napoleon’s proactivity is a thoughtful and welcome approach to iterative design.
