Furnaces The Furnace consists of several major components; the thermostat, the burner, the heat exchanger, the blower motor, the ductwork, and the flue or vent piping.

Thermostat: The thermostat acts a control, monitoring the temperature of the house, and brings the furnace on when the house needs to be heated. Burner: The burner is the means through which the fuel is delivered to the system, ignited by a hot surface igniter, and burned in an efficient, controlled environment. Heat Exchanger: Heat produced from the burning fuel in the burner is transferred to the metal walls of the heat exchanger. The heat exchanger also serves as a divide between the source of combustion and the air distributed throughout the house, ensuring that harmful byproducts are not released into the household. Blower Motor: The blower motor creates an air current that pulls air from the return ductwork, across the heat exchanger, and into the supply ductwork. Ductwork: The ductwork transfers cooled air from the household to the furnace and the heated air from the furnace throughout the home. Flue or Vent Pipe: The flue or vent pipe serves to exhaust byproducts of the combustion process to the outside.

Benefits of a Furnace System

• High Efficiency furnaces have the benefit of being quieter, produce more even heat with continuous flow, and produce that heat more efficiently compared to their older counterparts.
• High Efficiency furnaces can use existing ductwork and can be paired with an air conditioner to provide both a heating and cooling solution for the home.
• With furnaces reaching AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiencies) as high as 98%, a new unit can save customers on utility bills.
• Furnaces can be fuelled by oil, natural gas, propane, or even electric, providing the customer with a range of choices.
• Furnaces have filters, which when changed regularly, can provide cleaner, healthier air to the home.

Disadvantages of a Furnace System

• High Efficiency furnaces require two vent pipes (a fresh air intake and an exhaust) instead of a single exhaust pipe. This serves to dual purpose of allowing the furnace to pill fresh air from outside, ensuring that there is proper air for combustion, and allows for some of the condensing gasses to be re-burned, adding to the efficiency of the unit.
• Installing a ductwork system in a home that does not already have an existing system can be costly and require opening up walls to run ductwork.
• Furnace systems have been known to dry out the air causing health issues. However, a humidifier can typically be installed to alleviate this issue.
• Furnaces also need regular maintenance.