Keeping your home warm during the colder seasons in Portland is crucial, and a furnace plays a vital role in this process. However, most homeowners only pay attention to how their furnace works once they return to a broken one on a freezing winter day. To avoid this, it’s essential to understand the workings of your furnace and how to maintain it.
A furnace comprises several components, including burners, heat exchangers, ductwork, a blower, a flue, a thermostat, and sometimes a heat pump. Each component plays a specific role in the heating process, and it’s essential to understand how they work together to keep your home warm and comfortable.
- The burners are tubes where gas burns and are fitted with a flame sensor and a gas valve that control the flames and turn off the gas when a flame is not detected. When the thermostat sends a signal to the furnace, the burners turn on and heat the air. The heat exchanger then absorbs the heat generated by the burners.
- The heat exchanger, one of the most vital parts of a home furnace, is made up of coils where heat is added to the air. The heat exchanger is a crucial component of the furnace. It is responsible for extracting the heat from the combustion process and transferring it to the air circulated throughout your home.
- The blower is responsible for circulating the heated air throughout your home. The blower pushes the heated air through the ductwork and into the rooms of your home, ensuring that each room is warm and comfortable.
- The thermostat is the control center of the furnace. It sends signals to the furnace to turn on and off based on the temperature in your home. You can set the thermostat to a specific temperature, and the furnace will work to maintain that temperature.
- Heat pump, mostly fitted in hybrid heating systems, increases the efficiency of home heating systems and reduces heating bills.
Regular maintenance is crucial to keep your furnace running efficiently. Some tips to keep your furnace in top shape include:
- Inspecting and cleaning the air filter, examining all electronic connections
- Regularly lubricating moving parts
- Checking for corrosion on the unit
- Ensuring that the burners are operating correctly.
In conclusion, as a homeowner, it’s essential to understand the inner workings of your furnace and how to maintain it to ensure that you can keep your home warm and comfortable during the colder seasons. If you ever run into any issues with your furnace, contact a Heat Relief professional technician for assistance. We have an experienced team that will help you with any furnace-related problems in the Portland, Oregon area. Give us a call at (503) 877-1713.