In a climate as mild as ours, a forced air furnace provides one of the most convenient ways to heat a home. These systems use natural gas that’s burned in a combustion chamber inside the furnace and a network of ductwork to deliver the warmed air. They’re easy to install, last for years with routine annual maintenance and offer solid energy efficiency. In fact, builders choose forced-air heating systems in warmer climates for just these reasons.
Major Furnace Components
The furnace itself likely sits inside your home and contains the combustion chamber, a gas line, a heat exchanger and the plenum that connects the furnace to the ductwork. A gas valve opens when the thermostat triggers the furnace and it ignites inside the combustion chamber, heating up the heat exchanger. A blower motor pulls air past the heat exchanger and the air flows to all the spaces in your home that have air ducts. The forced air furnace also uses an air filter that helps keep the components inside the furnace clean.
Furnace Efficiency
A combustion furnace’s efficiency rating is established by the amount of fuel it uses to create heat, rather than going up the chimney or otherwise wasted. The minimum stands at 78 AFUE (annual fuel utilization efficiency), which means that the system uses just 78 percent of the fuel to heat your home. Furnaces are available with AFUE ratings approaching 99 percent.
Benefits of Forced Air Heating
- Forced air heating systems quickly heat homes, which is why they dominate regions like ours, where days go by without needing any heat at all, followed by cold weather when heat’s necessary.
- These systems can accommodate high quality air filtration equipment and whole-house humidification systems to remedy dry air in the winter. Ultraviolet (UV) lights placed in the ductwork will destroy harmful microorganisms, including mold, viruses and bacteria. Since they’re inside the ducts, there’s no danger of eyesight damage due to UV ray exposure.
To learn more about a forced air furnace for your home in the Corpus Christi area, contact Bodine-Scott Air Conditioning Co. today.
