Find Out How Your Furnace Works
For over 20 years, the technicians at Black Lion Heating & Air Conditioning have maintained heaters and installed furnaces in Kirkland, WA. It gets chilly in Kirkland during the winter, so our customers must have reliable heating systems. Lots of our customers want to know the differences between furnaces. All furnaces are types of forced air systems where hot air is blown through ducts and up through registers into the rooms. But here are the differences between them:
An Oil Furnace
When the thermostat is turned on, the burner found at the bottom of an oil furnace sprays oil and air into the combustion chamber where it’s ignited thanks to the pilot light. The hot oil/air mix enters the heat exchanger, and a blower pulls in air from a return duct and forces it into the heat exchanger. When the air is warm enough, it rises and flows into the plenum and into the supply ducts. From there, it flows up into the registers.
A Gas Furnace
With a gas furnace, gas is sent to a burner assembly where the pilot light ignites it. The warmed gas rises through the heat exchanger and escapes through the chimney. At the same time, the blower pulls in air from the return duct as it would in an oil furnace. The air is heated, enters the plenum and proceeds to the ductwork.
An Electrical Furnace
Electrical furnaces, which are the simplest type of furnace, usually need very little maintenance. They don’t need a heat exchanger, pilot light nor a chimney to allow dangerous gases to escape. The thermostat simply signals heating elements in the furnace to turn on, and the air is heated when the blower forces it through them. As with the other types of furnaces, the heated air enters the plenum and the duct system before proceeding to the rooms. Cooled air enters the return ducts and returns to the furnace to be heated again.
Call Us for All of Your HVAC Needs
The heating professionals at Black Lion Heating & Air Conditioning have expertise in more than furnaces. Call us for all of your heating, cooling and electrical needs. We also install and service hot water heaters, whether they are traditional or tankless.