Modern households need to be well equipped to handle any type of weather. A house is essentially a safe haven for people when outside temperatures are either too hot and dusty or too cold and wet. The majority of houses have residential heating and air conditioning systems. Furnaces are a key component in efficient air conditioning for residential spaces. A furnace is a stationary heating system that is essential for distributing heated air throughout the household. Residential furnaces are always put to use during the winter season as temperatures drop and the need for heating increases. The same is true for hotter seasons, as furnaces can help cool air flow throughout an area.
Although the vast majority of houses may have a furnace, the question comes down to which exact type of furnace a specific house uses. There are three different types of modern household furnaces: a gas furnace , an oil furnace , and an electric furnace . A key feature that is common to these different types of furnaces is the furnace ducts that transfer the hot air throughout the area of the household.
“SS-Flex 800”
“SSti-Flex 1650”
Gas furnaces are the kind of furnaces that use natural gas to heat a house. A gas furnace goes into effect once the house thermostat indicates that the temperature in a given room has dropped below a specified preset level. The thermostat is one of the more important furnace parts because it provides the signal for the furnace to start the heating process. Once the gas furnace receives the signal, it begins to deliver natural gas to the burners inside the combustion chamber. This process creates heat that warms the air. The resulting hot air is transferred into the rooms of the house via the furnace ducts, thus providing the heat for people to stay warm and comfortable.
An oil furnace operates along the same general principle as the gas furnaces. It still requires the use of a thermostat to send signals in order to activate the furnace. The only difference is that instead of natural gas, the source of the heat is oil like propane. Chances are likely that if someone refers to a propane furnace, they are talking about an oil furnace.
An electric furnace is distinct from oil and gas furnaces because of both it’s form and source of energy. An electric furnace has a powerful motorized fan located at it’s base that sucks in cool air and pushes it into a chamber with electric heating coils. These electrical furnace parts heat the cool air so that the furnace ducts can transfer it out. There are typically three layers of coils that the air goes through before it is channeled out by a furnace duct. Each layer increases the air’s temperature. Increasingly more and more houses are starting to use the electric furnace because they tend to come with higher quality electric thermostats that can self-regulate as to when they should stop the heating process.
The kind of furnace ducts typically used as furnace parts are designed to be very flexible and are made of materials that can survive contact with higher than average temperatures. Furnace ducts must withstand the temperature of the media traveling through them, as well as the points it is in contact with any heated part of the furnace itself. It is important that a furnace duct be able to flex and bend with ease because the layout of a house can vary from one building to the next. Bends and tight corners are almost always involved because the heat from a gas furnace or electric furnace needs to be transferred to several different rooms at once. A flexible duct reduces the cost of installation by reducing the installation time.
Apart from the flexibility of a furnace duct, the exact material the ducting is made from is a very important matter. It needs to be able to withstand direct contact with extreme temperatures. Since homes do not involve the kind of extreme temperatures often found in industrial settings, the usual temperature range required from these furnace parts generally falls somewhere between -40° F to 275° F. Popular materials for use as furnace ducts include thermoplastic rubber, PVC, and polyurethane. If metals are preferred than aluminum is the material of choice. Metal furnace ducts offer more heat resistance, are more durable if abrasion and impact are a concern, and have a higher burn rate. Furnaces are ultimately useless without the proper furnace duct ventilation system to channel them into the designated areas.
Furnaces are important parts of the household throughout the different seasons of the year. It may not be the most obvious or visible part of the house, but it is easily one of the most important.
Whether a house has a gas furnace, propane furnace, or an electrical furnace, it is essential that it remain in proper working order. People should be aware of the type of furnace they have in their homes or in any future home they wish to acquire as it makes maintenance much easier.