What Is A Furnace?

How Do Gas Furnaces Work?

If your home has central heating, you’re fully aware of how useful it can be when temperatures drop. Relying on space heaters in the winter can be very difficult. With that being said, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the different kinds of heating systems out there. To start, we’ll focus on gas furnaces. What is a furnace and how do gas furnaces work? A gas furnace is exactly what it sounds like; a furnace that’s powered through natural gas. A furnace works to heat a home during the winter. These furnaces usually work quickly, and they tend to be extremely powerful. Gas furnaces also provide cost-effective heating. How do these furnaces operate? While you’re probably not that interested in the technical details, you probably do want to know how your gas furnace operates. When you adjust the settings on your thermostat, a signal is sent to your furnace. The control board on your furnace will receive the signal and check to see if the furnace’s safeties are operating properly. It’s extremely important to monitor safeties during the heating process. AC Man Of Houston listed the top 3 important points that will break down the question we are commonly asked, “how do furnaces work.”

1. Getting Heat From A Natural Gas Furnace

Once the signal has been received and the safeties have been checked, natural gas will ignite in your furnace. The hot air generated by your furnace will be spread through your home through your ductwork. If at some point, one of the furnace’s safeties is triggered, the natural gas will be shut off and the furnace will shut down. This will ensure that you and your household will be safe even if something is wrong with your furnace. Your furnace will also set down once your thermostat has reached your desired temperature. If your home drops below the desired temperature, the signal will be sent back to the furnace, and the process will begin again. It’s an advanced process that’s absolutely fascinating. Obviously, not every system operated in the same way. The process described above refers to a single-stage furnace system that has a non-programmable furnace. Gas furnaces are very popular, and there are many different models on the market. While your furnace and your thermostat can change this process, this is still how most gas furnaces operate. If you suspect that there is an issue with your gas furnace, the best thing that you can do is shut down the system at both the power supply and the thermostat. Once you’ve done that, you should reach out to your local HVAC contractor. Are you experiencing problems with your furnace? Consider getting help from a furnace repair expert at AC Man Of Houston.

2. Fueling Your Residential Furnace

Home furnaces are a permanent appliance that delivers heat to space via some sort of intermediary movement. Steam, hot water, and air can all power this major appliance. Generally speaking, a heating appliance that operates via hot water or steam is described as a “residential hot water boiler” or a “residential steam boiler.” Natural gas is the most common fuel source for furnaces in North America, especially modern furnaces. Natural gas furnaces are popular throughout Europe as well. Other popular fuel sources include fuel oil and liquefied petroleum gas. Furnaces fueled by wood or coal are a lot rarer. In certain areas, where electricity costs are a lot lower, homes may use electrical resistance heating. It’s more common to see these heating systems in areas that don’t experience severe cold temperatures. A modern furnace can reach an efficiency level of 98% if it is a high-efficiency model. These furnaces are able to operate without chimneys. The standard gas furnace usually reaches an efficiency level of about 80%. In homes without a chimney, PVC pipes are used to ventilate waste gas and heat mechanically. This can be vented through either the roof or the side of a house. The fuel efficiency of a gas furnace is measured by AFUE or Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency. If you are having furnace problems, make sure to contact a furnace professional today.

3. Heat Distribution Throughout Your Home

Furnaces use intermediary distribution to transfer heat to a building’s living space. Typically, furnaces are referred to as boilers if that heat is distributed through steam or hot water. A major perk offered by boilers is that they can deliver hot water for showers and washing dishes. This means that a separate water heater isn’t necessary. Of course, this advantage can also be a downside. If a boiler is malfunctioning, both heat and hot water will be unavailable. It’s standard for modern “warm air” furnaces to circulate air throughout a home using a fan. Fans can also pull cold air back towards a furnace so that it can be reheated. This process is referred to as “forced air heat.” Since a fan is able to overcome any resistance provided by a home’s ductwork, the ducts can be arranged in a number of ways. In America, it’s normal to have separate ducts that collect cooler air. The cool air usually enters the furnace through some sort of air filter. It moves through the blower before entering the furnace’s heat exchanger. After this, the now warm air is distributed throughout the space. One of the biggest perks of a system like this is that it makes it easy to install a central air condition system. The only thing that needs to be added is a cooling coil at the furnace’s outlet. Both warm and cool air can be circulated via the ductwork. The ducts can be insulated or uninsulated, and they can be made from sheet metal or a plastic material. If the ducts in a home have not been sealed with either mastic or foil duct tape, it’s likely that air will leak into unconditioned spaces in the building. For all of your furnace problems, be sure to reach out to AC Man Of Houston as indoor air quality is very important.

If you are still wondering “how do furnaces work” or “what is a furnace” then make sure to check out our blog for more related content. If you would like to speak with a professional furnace repair specialist call us today at (713) 460-2653.

The post What Is A Furnace? appeared first on AC Man Houston - HVAC & Air Conditioning Repair.

from AC Man Houston – HVAC & Air Conditioning Repair https://ift.tt/2vKTEuZ
via IFTTT