Are commercial air conditioning units superior to home units?

Commercial units usually are rated at a higher BTUs than home units. And the larger the unit, the more efficiently the unit cools without running constantly, so they don’t work as hard. Being a large unit means there are more cooling coils which makes for more efficiency since the heat gathered from inside can be dissipated outside quicker.

@kritiper do you think the commercial ones are built to last longer? Need fewer service calls?

Both about the same, especially if made by a reputable firm. The less they have to work, the longer they’ll last. And the motors/compressors are sealed units, no dirt gets in to wear them out.

Those large looking units are typically dual fuel. Some commercial units are made to a higher standard, especially those used in areas like server farms and critical infrastructure.

@ARE_you_kidding_me ? Are you talking about air conditioning units or alternating current generators??

Air conditioning

When we bought our house, there was a HVAC unit outside with the air handler in the attic. The air handler was an industrial unit. The HVAC guy that came out to inspect said the air handler would probably outlast the house. Unfortunately, when the AC unit went, the air handler was not compatible with replacements. The one draw back to the commercial sized units is that they generally take more electricity to operate. They will cool/heat well and will last, but will cost more to operate. Likewise, a unit too small will cost more as it will have to run longer to do the same amount of work. You need to make sure your unit is sized appropriately to your house to get the optimum performance and cost.

@ARE_you_kidding_me “Dual fuel” air conditioning? What is that? Home A/C units run on electricity. Where you at??

I don’t know where you live but around here heat pumps rule and in a couple of months during winter they can’take keep up and gas heat takes over. It’s better than heating coils.

We have heat pumps around here, too, but they are electrically operated heat pumps. They either pump heat in or pump heat out.
The question asked was about A/C units. (Which are heat pumps, but only pump heat out.)

@kritiper You can reverse the Heat Pump cycle and it becomes an Air Conditioner.

@Tropical_Willie Yes, I know. It’s why I mentioned that heat pumps “either pump heat in or pump heat out.” But they are called heat pumps, not air conditioners, and the OP asked about air conditioners.

Most all-house A/C units are really heat pumps. ;>)

@kritiper here in Tennessee any big box hanging off the side of the house that heats or cools the place is referred to as “AC” In the winter it’s called “heat” regardless of what it is.

@Tropical_Willie Yes, thank you, I hope I established that.
@ARE_you_kidding_me Ok. Local jargon accepted. I guess in the end it depends on just exactly what the OP meant.