How Does A Gas Furnace Work?

Did you know that heating your home accounts for roughly 45% of energy bills paid by U.S. homeowners? As temperature drops, it's important to know how your HVAC system is heating your home. In this video, we'll tell you everything you need to know about a gas furnace and how it works.

Hi, I'm Luke from Fire & Ice. And one of the most common ways to heat your home is by using a gas furnace with a central air system. In this video, we'll cover what's a furnace system? How does a furnace system work? What are the alternatives to a gas furnace system? What can cause a gas furnace to have problems? And finally, what can you do next? We hope by the end of this video, you'll have a better understanding of your furnace system so that you can have a well-informed conversation with an HVAC contractor.

What is a gas furnace system?

So let's jump in and see what's a gas furnace heating system. A gas furnace system heats air in one area and distributes it throughout the home via ductwork and vents. The main part of a gas furnace system are the thermostat, the gas valves, the burners, heat exchanger, blower, and duct work and ventilation systems. When your furnace creates heat combustion, gases are vented out of your home via a flue pipe.

How does a gas furnace work?

Now, let's breakdown how a gas furnace works. Air is collected and sent to your furnace via the return register. It passes through the filter, which removes particles of dirt, dust, dander, etc. out of the air. Your furnace starts when it receives a signal from the thermostat that tells it to turn off the electronic ignition starts the burner component inside of the combustion chamber. The flames from the burner component heat, a metal heat exchanger. The heat circulates through the looped tubes of the heat exchanger and the air moves across the tubes to warm the air. As the heat circulates through the heat exchanger. The blower motor and fan moves the heat through the furnace system and eventually out of the supply registers and into your home.

What are the alternatives to a gas furnace system?

So what are the alternatives to a gas furnace system? A gas furnace typically uses natural gas, but other heating systems can use propane, heating oil or electricity as well.

If you don't have natural gas lines available, you could also use a heat pump combined with an air handler to heat your home. A gas furnace system using central air requires the use of ductwork in order to move the air throughout your home. If you would like to heat a specific part of your home, you could also use a ductless mini-split.

What can cause a gas furnace to have problems?

So let's move on to the next question. What can cause a gas furnace to have problems Some pieces of equipment, like the flame sensor, can be broken and need to be cleaned on a regular basis. Heat exchangers can also get cracks in them over time and will cause a need to replace the furnace. Dirty filters can lower the lifespan of your blower motor and can reduce efficiency with your system. All of these problems can be prevented or solved by having routine maintenance on your system. We recommend maintenance on your system at least twice a year. One for the heating and one for the cooling system.

What are the next steps?

Finally, let's talk about what you can do next. So now that you know what a furnace system is, and how it works. Visit our service page to see how we can help you with your specific heating and cooling needs. Thank you for watching, and we look forward to making your day a little better.