A gas furnace is an extremely important and useful appliance for
people living in cold regions. Also known as a home furnace, it converts
gas to heat and is used to keep the circulation of indoor air warm and
comfortable for living conditions. As an environmentally friendly option
to preserve natural resources like wood, coal and oil to heat homes,
natural gas is used in recent times. Some furnaces operate at 95%
efficiency which simply means that what you pay for energy is converted
into heat for your home’s indoors.
Before going on to understand how a gas furnace works, take some time
to know the parts of a furnace. A home furnace is divided into three
parts. The first part consists of the burner, heat exchanger, vent and
draft inducer. The second is made up of safety devices and controls. The
third consists of the blower and air movement. All these parts work in
unison to keep the furnace running efficiently.
How does it work?
A gas furnace is a forced home air heating system that reacts when
the indoor air temperature drops below the programmed setting on a
thermostat. The heart of your home furnace is the burner controlled by a
thermostat. When the temperature indoors falls below a certain point,
the thermostat alerts the furnace which combines air and fuel and the
mixture gets ignited by an electronic igniter.The combusted, hot gas
begins to rise through the heat exchanger situated above the burner and
heats the air which is circulated throughout the house. The remaining
exhaust exits the gas furnace from a vent, which is let outside the
house. The whole heating process starts at the heart of the system,
which is the furnace controlled by the thermostat. Some furnaces come
with two or more burners where huge volumes of air are heated for
distribution.Meanwhile, an electric fan situated inside the furnace
pulls in fresh air which comes through a flat, large grill located in
the floor, wall or ceiling of the house. Before the fresh air reaches
the furnace, it must filtered properly of dust and other particulate
matter.If the cold air is not properly cleaned then it can have an
adverse effect on its operation. You need to replace furnace filters
every month and also keep the duct vents clean to provide maximum
working efficiency and heat to your home. The filtered air passes into
an enclosed space known as the plenum which is located opposite to the
heat exchanger.The exchanger then heats the air very quickly which comes
from the plenum as a result of high pressure. The hot air is passed out
of the furnace and through the ductwork into your home’s indoor spaces.
The ignited gases that are used to create the heat are vented through a
shaft in the wall or roof. However in some furnace installations, a
humidifier is added near the place where the intake duct is located so
that the drying out of heated air can be mitigated. Humidifiers are
directly connected to the water line by a tiny copper pipe.Another pipe
is also used to drain away the condensation created from the process.
Till the temperature inside reaches a specific point, the process is
repeated again and again. Only after a certain level, the thermostat
stops the furnace from the heating process.The size of the FurnaceIt is
important to consider the size of the furnace before installation. The
size of the gas furnace should match the size of the indoor spaces meant
for heating.If the furnace is too large, it will off repeatedly and
short-cycle, which in turn can lead to wear and tear on internal
components and spikes in electricity.If the furnace is too small, it
will constantly run in cold weather, which will take more energy to warm
indoor spaces and therefore increase electricity usage.To determine
what furnace size to purchase, take important points into consideration
like your home’s total area for heating and type of insulation used. A
well-insulated home goes a long way in keeping your furnace running
efficiently and cut back on energy bills every month.
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