Home furnaces are essential appliances across most of North America and this is especially true in Canada where the cold winter weather can be especially brutal. You need to have a home heating system that is reliable and works well no matter what the temperature outside. That is one of the reasons many people choose gas furnaces as their preferred method to heat their homes. They are a complicated yet simple appliance that is very easy for any home owner to operate. Let’s take a little closer look at the basics of gas furnace operation.
Power Source
Even though they may be called gas heaters they still need electricity to work. Electricity is what powers the controls, powers the high powered blower unit and also what is used to ignite the flame in the heating process too. So don’t be fooled into thinking that a gas furnace does not require electricity to run.
Fuel
Gas furnaces use basically two types of fuel mixtures to produce the heat in them that is then transferred into the rooms in your home. These are natural gas and propane. They are similar but by no means interchangeable; as a matter of fact, when you are purchasing a new gas furnace you have to be very specific as to which exact type of gas you will be using so the company you are purchasing it from can order the proper burner unit. In order to know the basics of gas furnace operation you have to be clear on this point.
Heat Conveyance
How do gas furnaces get the heat they produce into the rooms it needs to go to? They use a powerful blower to draw in air and then push it to the rooms it needs to go to. This tends to make gas furnaces a very efficient and fast means of heating up your home. The rooms the heat goes into have no cold pockets and are very comfortable because the heated air fills each room completely.
Air Ducts
The heat does not just magically appear in each room in your home either. It travels there by means of extensive ductwork that connects the furnace to all the rooms in your home. This duct work actually has to be planned into the design of your home and is installed during the construction process. Once the walls and ceilings are added to your home the only part of the duct system you will see is the vents that let the warm air into each room.
Add-ons
Gas furnaces can be made even better by adding other components to them. One of the most popular components to add to them is an air conditioning system that conveniently shares the same blower system and ductwork. You can even ad a tankless water heater to them for more convenience.
Now you know a little bit about the basics of gas furnace operation. They are great systems to own and they really do offer a lot of convenience to those that have them in their home.