How Does A Furnace Work And What Is It Used For? (2023)

FAQs

What is a furnace What is it used for? ›

Furnaces heat air and distribute the heated air through the house using ducts. Boilers heat water, and provide either hot water or steam for heating. Steam is distributed via pipes to steam radiators, and hot water can be distributed via baseboard radiators or radiant floor systems, or can heat air via a coil.

The heat produced passes through a heat exchanger, making it hot. Air from the home's ductwork is blown over the heat exchanger, warming the air. The furnace's blower then forces the heated air into the supply ductwork, distributing it throughout the home.

A furnace works by blowing heated air through ducts that deliver the warm air to rooms throughout the house via air registers or grills. This type of heating system is called a ducted warm-air or forced warm-air distribution system. It can be powered by electricity, natural gas, or fuel oil.

Furnaces heat up raw materials so products can be produced such as gasoline, oil, kerosene, chemicals, plastics, and rubber.

Throughout the year - even during warmer months - a furnace circulates conditioned air around your home. But even beyond that, your air conditioner can't work without a furnace. A furnace houses two components that your air conditioner relies on: the evaporator coil and the blower motor.

A furnace is part of your heating system, often working alongside both an HVAC and a boiler, and can, in many ways, be considered a heater itself. Simply put, all furnaces may be considered a heater, but not all heaters are furnaces.

The furnace thermostat is the nerve center of your home heating system. It's the main control point that determines when and how much heat will be delivered by the furnace. But for all its mystery, the thermostat is actually a very simple device. At its most basic level, it's simply a temperature-sensitive switch.

The blower fan motor

The main reason that a natural gas furnace won't provide heat if it doesn't have electricity is because the blower motor that powers the blower fan requires electrical power. The furnace can produce heat inside the combustion chamber—but that heat won't go anywhere if the blower fan isn't running.

Furnace (central heating): a furnace (in American English), or a heater or boiler (in British English), used to generate heat for buildings. Boiler, used to heat water; also called a furnace in American English when used for heating and hot water in a building.

How does forced air furnace work? ›

How Forced Air Furnaces Work. The forced air furnace pulls colder air through the ductwork running throughout your home into the furnace where it's heated. Once the furnace heats the cool air, the heated air is then sent back through different ductwork and pushed out through heat registers to warm your home.

Your furnace should not be constantly running. It's a definite sign of a system malfunction and there are few common causes for this. If it seems like your furnace never turns off, you should definitely call a reliable HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) service for furnace repair in Burlington, NC.

Most contemporary furnaces use natural gas, electricity, or propane. Propane has started to fade, however, with many homes converting over to gas. If you are considering a furnace for your home for the coming winter, your choice will most likely come down to gas or electric.

In a nutshell, a furnace heats your home. An HVAC system combines a furnace, air conditioner, and ventilation system (more on that below). So, if you need HVAC service, it may or may not include the furnace.

HVAC maintenance companies explain that a furnace will normally perform an average of two to three cycles in an hour, with each cycle lasting 10 to 15 minutes. But to keep temperatures at a comfortable level during cold weather, a furnace might need to increase this range to three to 10 cycles.

There are four main types of furnaces: natural gas, oil, electric, and propane. Electric furnaces can heat the air by exposing heated elements, while other types of furnaces typically require a heat exchanger or chamber that warms the surrounding air.

The heat exchanger is the most important part of your heater or furnace, because it's the tool that heats the air. Typical, furnaces pull air in from the outside. The heat exchanger heats the air quickly, and the air is blown into your home.

Natural Gas Furnace

Gas furnace components include the thermostat, electric controls, gas valve, burners, heat exchanger blower, ducts, and ventilation system.

THE AVERAGE FURNACE LIFESPAN

A well-maintained furnace can last at least 15 to 20 years, but completing annual maintenance and being diligent with repairs can extend its life even longer.

Most furnaces are found in the center of your home, either in a special utility closet or down in the basement. If your home doesn't have a basement, it can also be in a crawl space or the attic. You may find other equipment like the water heater or your washing machine close by.

Is a furnace the same as a water heater? ›

No, the furnace and water heater are not the same. The actual difference between both of them is that the water heater only gives hot water. But a furnace is involved in heating your home and helps in warming the air.

Especially knowing that it is possible to live without heating or air conditioning, even though it is not easy. One of the main keys to achieving this lies in changing the distribution of our home, a decision that can help us greatly reduce our gas and electricity bills.

Understanding that your AC and furnace work both separately and together can be a bit confusing. Simply put, the air conditioning part of your heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC) system chills refrigerant (with an outside unit) while the furnace works inside with fans and coils.

Your furnace can work without a thermostat. The system is designed to operate independently of a thermostat, but the thermostat is an additional device that helps regulate when the system turns on and off. This also depends on the fuel used for your heating system.

If your furnace keeps shutting off, it could be due to low airflow. There are several indirect issues that cause low airflow. Dirty Air Filters. If you don't change your air filters often enough, the filters will become dirty and clogged, which means the heat exchanger retains heat and eventually causes it to overheat.

The condensate line is one of the most important components of your HVAC system. Your condensate line, also known as a “condensate drain line” or “condensate drain” does several jobs, but none are more critical to the functionality of your appliance than draining excess moisture outside of your home.

The furnace switch is the power source and is typically located next to the furnace or on its side. It closely resembles a light switch. First, confirm the switch is in the "on" position and see if your furnace starts up then. If the switch is flipped down in the "Off" position, then your furnace will not turn on.

When electricity goes out in the winter, so does your main heat source, whether that is a furnace, boiler or electric heat. Even gas furnaces cannot run without electricity.

According to building codes, a furnace must be supplied by a dedicated circuit, meaning the circuit cannot supply power to anything other than the furnace. This circuit is served by its own circuit breaker in the breaker box (properly called the main service panel).

Whether you have a gas or electric furnace, both use electricity to run the fan and therefore need a circuit breaker. If the breaker “trips” (cuts flow of electricity), the furnace won't turn on.

How many hours does a furnace run per day? ›

Rather than running constantly, your furnace operates in cycles allowing it to heat your home without constantly being “on.” Generally speaking, your furnace will only be actively producing heat for up to 9 hours a day over multiple cycles.

On average, furnaces should kick on and off anywhere from 3-8 times per hour. However, if your furnace does so more frequently, don't assume it's short cycling just yet.

For most customers, we recommend turning on your furnace when the weather is consistently below 18° Celsius, which usually happens to be around the end of September, or early October. Some homeowners try to put off turning on their furnace as long as they can to save money, which is okay if you're healthy adults.

Although your furnace is fuelled by gas, there are some components to it that require electricity to operate. These include: Circuit Boards – Which relay information from the thermostat and the furnace. Relays – Electrically powered switches within the system.

To generate heat, furnaces burn oil or gas, while heat pumps run on electricity, drawing heat from outside air—even cold air—and transferring it indoors.

Most contemporary furnaces use natural gas, electricity, or propane. Propane has started to fade, however, with many homes converting over to gas. If you are considering a furnace for your home for the coming winter, your choice will most likely come down to gas or electric.

Furnaces And Air Conditioners Are Different Systems

However, they still operate independently of each other. Does the furnace need to be on for the AC to work? No! Your air conditioner should run on its own, even when the furnace is off.

In other words, your central air conditioning system is independent of your furnace. The outdoor unit isn't connected to the furnace at all — but they both use the same distribution system (vents, plenums, and ducts) to cycle cool air into your home.

Your central air conditioning system is independent of your furnace. The outdoor unit isn't connected to the furnace at all—but they both utilize the same distribution system (vents, fans, filters, and ducts) to push cool and warm air into your home.

A furnace works by blowing heated air through ducts that then deliver the warm air to rooms throughout the house via air registers. Furnaces are powered by one of four fuel types: gas, electric, propane or solar energy.

What happens to a gas furnace when the power goes out? ›

The Gas Valve Shuts Off

Because it's not safe to try to light many furnaces without electricity, the furnace will sense when there's no power, and the gas valve will close, cutting off the flow of gas and preventing the furnace from functioning. This safety feature is something you should appreciate, not tamper with.

It isn't required to have a heat pump and furnace together but there can be some advantages. In areas with very cold winters, it's often more energy efficient to heat the home with a furnace and use the heat pump for cooling.

One of the best reasons to make the switch is because electric furnaces are safer. Electric furnaces do not use gas or oil, and thus cannot make dangerous oil or gas leaks in your home. They also cannot produce carbon monoxide, so your family is safe from this serious risk.

New gas furnaces typically cost more to buy and install than electric furnaces. According to FIXR, the average cost to install a new system in a 2,000 square foot home is $4,500 to $6,000, while an electric furnace will cost a homeowner about $2,000 to $4,000.

The main difference between central air and forced-air systems is that a central air system refers specifically to the cooling system. A central air conditioning system uses vents, ducts, and a plenum (a box responsible for moving air) in a forced-air setup to deliver temperature-regulated air.

The three common central heating systems are furnaces, boilers, and heat pumps. All three are used in homes throughout the nation to heat up and cool off homes.

The main difference is that a heat pump can both heat and cool your home while a furnace only heats. However, heat pumps can struggle to provide sufficient heating when temperatures outside get too low. Furnaces on the other hand, provide heat in and of themselves, traditionally through gas or electric power.