Borrowing and Lines of Credit (Narrative) (Details) € in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Apr. 08, 2019 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2019 EUR (€)
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Aggregate Line of Credit Agreements, Maximum Borrowing Capacity	$ 10,350,000,000.00
Maximum Commercial Paper Borrowing Authority	4,350,000,000.00	$ 6,350,000,000.00
Commercial paper, euro-denominated	849,000,000		€ 750
2.20B Revolving Credit Agreement [Member]
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity	$ 2,200,000,000.00
Line of Credit Facility, Expiration Date	Aug. 05, 2021
Borrowings under credit agreements	$ 0
2.15B Multicurrency Revolving Credit Agreement [Member]
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity	$ 2,150,000,000.00
Line of Credit Facility, Expiration Date	Aug. 05, 2021
Borrowings under credit agreements	$ 0
2.0B Revolving Credit Agreement [Member]
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity	$ 2,000,000,000.0
Line of Credit Facility, Expiration Date	Mar. 15, 2021
Line of Credit Facility, Expiration Terms	180 days after the date on which each of the separations of Otis and Carrier have been consummated
Line of Credit Facility, Initiation Date	Mar. 15, 2019
Borrowings under credit agreements	$ 0
4.0B Term Credit Agreement [Member]
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity	$ 4,000,000,000.0
Line of Credit Facility, Expiration Date	Mar. 15, 2021
Line of Credit Facility, Expiration Terms	180 days after the date on which each of the separations of Otis and Carrier have been consummated
Line of Credit Facility, Initiation Date	Mar. 15, 2019
Borrowings under credit agreements	$ 0
1.5B Revolving Credit Agreement [Member]
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Termination Date	Mar. 15, 2019
Termination Loans	$ 1,500,000,000
Borrowings under credit agreements	$ 0