Heating Installations:

What is a Furnace?

• A furnace works to keep a home warm in the winter and plays a critical part in the operation of an air conditioning system.

• Furnaces produce heat through the combustion of natural gas in the furnace’s burner. The heat produced from this process then passes through a heat exchanger. Air from your home’s return air ducts is blown over the heat exchanger, thus warming the air.

• The furnace’s blower then blows the warmed air into the ductwork, which carries and disperses the warmed air throughout the home.

During warmer months, the blower inside a furnace continues to circulate return air throughout the home – only this time, the return air has been cooled by being blown over the indoor coil portion of the home’s split-system air conditioning system. The condensing coil is typically installed on top of the furnace.

Furnace Safety and Maintenance

• Replace your furnace filter. You should replace or clean your furnace filter(s) at least four times yearly. This is a quick, easy job. A new filter makes your furnace more energy-efficient and saves money. A clean filter will help your furnace burn more efficiently, and will help keep dust from being circulated through your home.
• A furnace that is not running at peak performance can be deadly. Carbon Monoxide is a natural product of incomplete combustion. A clean, efficiently burning gas furnace produces very small amounts of carbon monoxide, while a dirty, inefficiently burning furnace can produce deadly amounts of carbon monoxide. Carbon Monoxide is colorless and odorless, It causes flu-like symptoms, disorientation, confusion, and even death.

Easy Tips:

• Keep the area around the outside of your furnace clean.
• Keep the burner area of your furnace clean.
• Do not have anything combustible within six inches of your vent pipe.
• Do not close off the registers in your house. This can cause high resistance 
and unnecessary heat buildup in the furnace.
• Do not store combustible material such as paint thinners or gasoline near 
your furnace. 
Make sure your home has Carbon Monoxide detectors

Carbon Monoxide: Is a colorless, odorless and tasteless, and it can kill you if it’s concentrated enough. It’s caused by a lack of oxygen or a disruption of the fuel- burning process.

Beware of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

A clean, efficiently running gas furnace provides safe, economical heat. A gas furnace that is not running a peak performance can be deadly. Carbon Monoxide is a natural product of incomplete combustion. A clean, efficiently burning gas furnace produces very small amounts of carbon monoxide, while a dirty, inefficiently burning one can produce deadly amounts.

8 Furnace Warning Signs

Discover 8 fast and easy ways to know when to replace your gas furnace before it costs you money or becomes unsafe. A comfortable and healthy home environment requires an efficient and sound heating system. Such a system heats the home without using large amounts of energy and it does not endanger the indoor air quality by overtaxing the supply of oxygen needed for combustion.

It is important to know the 8 warning signs that your furnace may need replacing. It is especially important not to wait until a crisis occurs . A cold night in January, with the furnace faltering or failed, is not the time to assess your heating system. Do it now. Information is the key to making a wise decision. This report will teach you what the 8 warning signs that your furnace may need replacing.

This report is based on research undertaken by the federal Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, Minnesota Department of Public Service and electric and gas utilities. It also draws on the training resources of heating and cooling manufacturers, trade associations, and field service personnel. 

Furnace Warning Signs

#1. How old is your furnace?

A good place to start is to compare your furnaces age to the national average. The average life expectancy of furnaces in homes today is between 15- 20 years. If your furnace is close to this age or older, you should begin shopping. Shopping for a replacement furnace in an emergency does not allow time to make your best decision. Most people prefer to replace their furnace as a planned home improvement rather than a panic replacement when your furnace is faltering or failed. For starters, look at your furnace to see if you have a pilot light. If you do, it is almost certain to be over 25 years old!

#2. Gas & Electric Bills Going Up?

Rising gas and electric prices are not the only reason for high bills. Furnaces often lose their efficiency as they age especially if they have not been properly maintained. As a result your furnace may run longer to provide the same amount of heat. This will cause your gas & electric bills to go up. The money you pay the gas & electric company every month could be used to pay for new furnace.

#3. Any Furnace Repairs in the last 2 years?
Furnaces are like cars. As they age, you can replace one part only to have to replace another part next year. It doesn’t take long to spend $500-$1000 just to keep the old furnace running. Furnaces incur the most breakdowns in the last 2 years of their lives. Another repair sign is whether you had to wait to get parts replaced. As a furnace gets older, it gets harder to get replacement parts.

#4. Does your thermostat keep you comfortable?

Do you feel that some rooms are too cold while others are too hot? Or are you always trying to adjust your thermostat to make your home more comfortable? This is a sign that your furnace lacks the ability to properly distribute the air to keep you comfortable in your home.

#5. Is your burner flame yellow instead of blue?
A yellow or flickering flame may be a sign that poisonous carbon monoxide could be created by your furnace. Other possible signs of carbon monoxide are: Streaks of soot around furnace; Absence of an upward draft in your chimney; Excess moisture found on windows, walls, or other cold surfaces; Excessive rusting on flue pipes, other pipe connections, or appliance jacks; Small amount of water leaking from the base of the chimney, vent, or flue pipe; Rust on the portion of the vent pipe visible from the outside.

#6. Is your furnace making strange noises?
Old furnaces often start to make some strange noises as they get toward the end of their life. Have you heard any banging, popping, rattling, or squealing noises coming from your furnace? Another noise is when you hear the furnace blower running excessively. Does your blower turn on & off frequently or does it blow cold air sometimes? If so, this is a sign that your furnace may need to be replaced.

#7. How have you & your family been feeling?
Furnaces as they age run the risk of developing cracks in the heat exchanger inside your furnace. Carbon monoxide, if present, could leak into your home undetected. Signs of this may be frequent headaches, a burning feeling in nose or eyes, nausea, disorientation, flu-like symptoms. Should you experience any of these, air out your house, open a window to the furnace room and immediately call a gas service technician. Cracks in the heat exchanger can occur undetected which is why no one advises waiting until they occur.

#8. Is your house dry or dusty?
Old furnaces often lack the ability to moisturize and clean the air in your home. Your home air may feel stuffy or stale. Does anyone in your family suffer from allergies to airborne dust, mold, pollen, viruses or dander? Or does anyone suffer from dry nose, dry throat, or dry skin? Other signs may be frequent dust accumulation, static shocks, drooping plants, furniture cracking and musical instruments that do not stay in tune. These signs all suggest that your old furnace is not capable of providing you with the comfort you and your family may want.

Furnace Safety and Maintenance

• Replace your furnace filter.  You should replace or clean your furnace filter(s) at least three or four times yearly.  This is a quick, easy job.  A new filter makes your furnace more energy-efficient and saves money, too. The filter is usually found just inside the front cover of the furnace.  It may have its own access door on the front of the furnace.  A clean filter will help your furnace burn more efficiently, and will help keep dust from being circulated through your home.

• A furnace that is not running at peak performance can be deadly.  Carbon Monoxide is a natural product of incomplete combustion.  Virtually every gas furnace produces some Carbon Monoxide, which is usually carried away from your home through the furnace’s venting.  A clean, efficiently burning gas furnace produces very small amounts of carbon monoxide, while a dirty, inefficiently burning one can produce deadly amounts.  Carbon Monoxide is odorless and colorless.  It causes flu-like symptoms, disorientation, confusion, and even death.

• It is highly recommended that you have your furnace cleaned and checked every year.  The older the furnace, the more important this service is.  Newer gas furnaces are equipped with many features that shut the furnace off when a problem is detected.  Older furnaces have no such devices.  Over time, furnaces can develop small cracks in the combustion chamber.  These cracks may not be visible to the naked eye.  It is through theses cracks that Carbon Monoxide can leak into your home.