As cold weather rages outside, and your furnace blows nice, warm air through your home, did you ever stop to wonder how it works? How is the air heated in the first place? It’s due to your furnace’s heat exchanger. How do heat exchangers work? Let’s take a look.
Plate/Fin Heat Exchangers
Most furnaces work by burning some kind of fuel — usually natural gas, though some use oil. Burning this fuel creates heat, which must then be distributed from your furnace to the rest of your home. That’s where heat exchangers come in.
There are several basic types of heat exchanger. Most common in household furnaces is a plate/fin exchanger. As the fuel is burned, it heats up a series of thin metal plates, which the blower motor then blows air across. As the air travels, it absorbs the heat. The plates provide a large surface area, which helps to heat the air more quickly. That hot air then goes to your ducts, where it’s distributed throughout your home.
Heat Exchanger Safety
Your heat exchanger exists in a chamber, which contains the fuel being burned to create heat (as mentioned above, this is most often natural gas). Therefore, if your exchanger gets cracked or otherwise damaged, these gases can leak into your home, including carbon monoxide, which is deadly.
To keep yourself safe in case this happens, be sure to place carbon monoxide detectors throughout your home (though not too near your furnace). These will alert you if the CO levels in your home get too high, so that you can get your family out quickly and safely, before anyone is harmed.
It’s also important to have your furnace inspected annually, just before the beginning of heating season. A certified HVAC contractor can let you know if your heat exchanger shows damage or is in danger of cracking soon, so that you can fix or replace it before it causes any problems.
To learn more about heat exchangers and other HVAC issues, contact us at Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning today. We’re Lorain’s trusted experts for all your HVAC needs.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Lorain, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about heat exchangers and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Guide or call us at 440-201-2959.
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Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning
1 (440) 246-5440
Serving the Lorain, OH Area