Gas Furnace A Great Way To Heat Your Home

Should you heat with a Gas furnace?

In colder climates, natural gas furnaces are still generally the most cost effective way to heat a home or office. With efficiency as high as 99%, and limited emissions, a gas furnace can still be a fairly "earth friendly" choice.

Do I need an air duct system?

Most gas furnaces are designed to work with an air duct system to distribute the heat around the home. There are other gas heaters that don't require air ducts, but a typical gas furnace is designed to utilize an air distribution system to effectively place the heat around the home.

How do they work?

Gas furnaces work by igniting and burning fossil fuels such as Natural Gas or Propane. The flame heats up a heat exchanger which then has air blown over it transferring the heat from the flame into the air stream while keeping the combustion byproducts separate from the homes air. The air is moved by a motor driven blower contained in the furnace. 

How is burning gas safe? 

To safely burn gas inside a home, there are many safety systems integrated within a modern gas furnace. These include a combustion blower to remove the exhaust, pressure switches to ensure the exhaust gasses are being removed, flame sensors to make sure the flowing gas is burning, ignitor to ignite the flame, a gas valve to control the flow of the fuel, and limit switches that can shut the system down in the event of overheating. These, combined with other components make burning gas a safe and efficient way to heat your home. 

Carbon Monoxide

Carbon Monoxide or CO is a by-product of burning a flame. The more efficient the flame, the less CO there is. If there is something wrong with the fuel to air mixture, or if the heat exchanger wall in compromised, CO can leak into the air stream which is very dangerous for all of us red blooded mammals.  A regular (annually) tune up which includes checking carbon monoxide levels in the exhaust flue and checking for any CO in the air stream is an important part of safely operating a gas burning appliance such as a furnace indoors.

Annual Maintenance   

Since gasses such as Natural gas and Propane are very explosive and flammable, and carbon monoxide is so deadly, it is very important to have your gas furnace tuned up properly each year!  A good tune-up will include checking and adjusting the gas pressure and gas valve, cleaning and checking the flame sensor reading, ohming out the ignitor, testing the exhaust system, cleaning and flushing the condensate removal system, testing the air flow for proper levels, measuring and testing the temperatures and limits, checking the blower motor bearings and electrical usage, and more. If done properly and regularly a gas furnace will last for many years and provide safe heat and comfort!

Proper Sizing

It is very important to measure the heat loss of a home to make sure the furnace is large enough to replace the heat being lost, but not too large for the air duct distribution system. Bigger is Not Better! Just right is best!

Single Stage, Two Stage or Modulating?

We will discuss this in greater detail in a future blog but suffice it to say that a single stage furnace works and is the least expensive but most of the time it is oversized causing broader temperature swings making it not as comfortable. A two stage furnace is like having 2 furnaces in one. Run times are a little longer resulting in a more consistent temperature but you still have the bigger heating capacity for those really cold days. Modulating is the most comfortable since the gas valve modulates the flow of the gas allowing it to dial in the best temperature resulting in a very comfortable space! If you can afford it, the 2 stage and modulating are worth the investment.

Thermostat

While the thermostat is not really part of the furnace, it is important in that it controls when the furnace runs and the temperature.  It is also the interface between the furnace and the occupants. There are so many things to consider in a thermostat that we will leave it to a future blog. WIFI stats are very popular and can be a great choice for anyone wanting remote control and information about the temperature in the home when you are away.