The most common reason why heating systems break down is due to lack of maintenance. Just like a car that goes too long without tune-ups, your home’s furnace will not only become less efficient, but it will also become less safe and eventually stop working altogether.
That being said, you’re probably wondering what is it that technicians inspect when they tune up a furnace. Here’s an inside look at just a few safety precautions Rescue Air technicians check during a heating maintenance appointment.
Gas Leaks
Most furnaces burn natural gas to create heat. Due to its flammable nature, natural gas is a fire hazard in uncontrolled amounts. Therefore, you want to be absolutely sure that there are no gas leaks coming from your heating system.
Gas Pressure
A valve helps regulate the pressure of gas flowing into your furnace. It’s critical that the valve keeps the gas pressure in the appropriate range.
If the pressure is too high, your furnace can overheat, and internal components can get damaged. If the pressure is too low, your furnace’s efficiency will decrease, and the combustion process will create more condensation inside your furnace’s combustion chamber. All that moisture inside the combustion chamber can cause it to rust and form cracks, which we’ll explain more below.
The Combustion Chamber and Heat Exchanger
When a furnace burns gas to make heat, it also makes some flue gases and byproducts that are harmful to breathe, such as carbon monoxide. For this reason, the combustion takes place in a sealed chamber called the combustion chamber.
Your furnace’s heat exchanger acts as a shield of sorts between your “breathing air” and those hot flue gases in the combustion chamber. The flue gases make the heat exchanger hot, and the heat exchanger then transfers that heat to your breathing air—all the while keeping your breathing air separate from the flue gases.
So what should a technician be looking for? When tuning up your furnace, a technician should check to make sure that no harmful flue gases are leaking through the heat exchanger or out of the combustion chamber. The technician should also check for signs of rust in these areas, which can result from condensation (as mentioned above).
Excessive rust in the combustion chamber or on the heat exchanger means that the material is brittle and prone to cracking as it heats up and cools down, which makes leaks of harmful gases more likely.
Whether you’re a Comfort Club member or a new customer, you can rest easy knowing that the Dallas technicians at Rescue Air and Plumbing will provide you with a thorough heating system tune-up and top-notch customer service. Contact us online today or give us a call at (972) 201-3253.